The Colour Of Blood
by Bibbs
Summary: One portal seperates two worlds from eachother. The New World is where Humans live. And when a group of teengagers travel to the Old World, anything can happen, and anything can exist. Old enemies return to create new plans of evil. KAIxOC, TALAxOC
1. The Colour Of Blood

I'm sorry for having to do this. This story was up in my sisters account (Jello-is-evil)butshe deleted it off her account because she didn't want to continue it. So I decided that because I've written most of it (about 85 of it.) I'd bring it back on my account this time. I'll try and upload all the chapters as soon as I can, and I hope you find the time to re-read it to enjoy it once more or catch up on what you've missed. I'll try and update to the point where it last was. Please, just be patient.

Enjoy though...

**Disclaimer:** I'm only doing this once, cause I usually forget. So I DON'T OWN BEYBLADES! NEVER WILL! ...WANT TO, BUT WON'T!

ENJOY!...

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**Chapter One: The Colour of Blood**

_It was said that five thousand years ago there was once a portal from this world to a New World. In this New World there were four kingdoms, each governing itself under its own law._

_The first kingdom consisted of the Neko-jins; the guardians of the portal. With the ability to see in the dark they could vanquish any trespassers who dared to cross between the worlds. Likewise, their fast_ _speed and great agility made them formidable foes._

_The Neko-jins had five clans; three that stayed in their kingdom while the other two clans watched the portal from the Old World. Each clan had a leader which made up the five elders; leaders over all Neko-jins and their lands. _

_The second kingdom was where the Faeries dwelt. With their delicate wings their speed in flight was an amazing sight to see. With the ability to wield magic they were able to hide their identity and protect themselves and their kingdom. Many have said that their handling of a bow and arrow far surpassed that of even the highest renowned archer._

_There government consisted of seven guardians, the most powerful of all Faeries. But there was one family who were far superior. This family held the Enchantress, their Queen. Every Enchantress gave birth to twins, a son and a daughter. The son was to grow up to be an adviser to the Enchantress while the daughter would grow up to become the next Enchantress, Queen of all Faeries._

_The Avarians held the third kingdom. Bird-like people with retractable wings, they were the most powerful creatures of all four kingdoms. The claws on their fingers were easily hidden, like the wings, and with their amazing speed, which out did even the Neko-jins, they were made to be the perfect assassins. Their only flaw, but most valuable feature, was their promises. Avarians always kept their promises, which could be used to their advantage, or to the advantage of others. Seen as proud, their loyalty was to the highest grade. _

_They were the warriors of the kingdoms and were ruled by a King and Queen. The royal family was always of the same blood and it was the first born male child who held this royal blood. It was shown through his blood red eyes, the colour of the royal family. These red eyes proclaimed him to be the heir, the next in line to the throne._

_The last kingdom was the kingdom of darkness. No light shone down in order to keep what lived there hidden. These were the Shadow Crawlers, creatures able to use this darkness to conceal themselves. They could travel through shadows wherever they pleased, even to where they were most unwanted. These creatures were hated by all, and governed themselves in a most unruly manner. The strongest and most powerful creature, being Avarian, Neko-jin or Faerie included, was given the power to rule. Often corrupting even the most loyal of folk they were able to seduce them to the darkness and their will._

_With the Shadow Crawlers threatening the peace, an Alliance was formed between the three neighbouring kingdoms. For hundreds of years this Alliance stood strong against the corruptiveness of the Shadow Crawlers, until they were able to destroy the Avarian hierarchy. The King and Queen were murdered and their only son, the heir to the throne, disappeared. The Avarian kingdom fell into turmoil when the adviser of the Crown took advantage of the situation and took the throne_._ The royal blood being lost. The young Prince, only five when he disappeared, had never been heard from since. The kingdom, never wanting to lose hope that their Prince would return, kept the hope in their hearts, but with the Alliance shattered each kingdom separated, each trying to gain the advantage over the rest..._

"That was an awesome story Rei. Where'd you come up with something like that?" Tyson leant back with his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling.

Mr Dickinson had decided to send all five Beyblading teams, Blade Breakers, White Tigers, All Stars, Majestics and much to everyone else's dismay, the Demolition Boys, on a little 'get to know one another' camp. Seeing as though the Neko-jin village was surrounded by forestry it was the perfect place for none of the teams to escape from eachother. They had already landed in Hong Kong and were all spread out on Rei's living room floor.

Rei looked to his team mate amused, "Tyson, I told you at the beginning that this is a story that was passed down through my family for generations. It was said to be where we came from. This other world, this New World."

"Cool..." Tyson looked around and his eyes fell onto his team captain. "You know I'd hate for that story to be true."

Michael looked to Tyson smirking, "Why? You scared of a little story?"

"No! It's just that, if the story _was_ real...and if Kai was one of those bird people..."

"Avarians..."

"Yeah. Well then he would be like, royal or something...King even! It's bad enough having him as our teams captain, but imagine giving him all that power. Sheesh...major trouble there."

Everyone else just laughed at his comment; some nodding there heads in agreement. Tala looked up defiantly, "Why not? Kai would make a better leader than you would anyday. And anyway, how do you know this other world isn't still there? Kai might really be King."

Kai looked up at the comment from his childhood friend and smirked, then looking to Brian he winked. Brian, getting the hint to continue, spoke up next. "Better start treating him like one, before he sends you all to the dungeons." He pointed to Tyson, "If I was King, I'd send you there first. Might keep you quiet for a while."

"Yeah, well if I was King...I'd...umm...send all of you away! Banish you all!"

Rei looked up, "Actually Tyson, banishment was a serious punishment done by the Faeries. The Avarians didn't see the use of banishment and had a more detailed legal system."

Emily's curiositygrew at what Rei had said,"You seem to know a lot for just a story that's been passed down over the years."

Mariah, half-glaring to Emily, answered matter-of-factly, "Actually, it's more like our family history. Where we came from. _That's_ why it's so detailed."

Max had been listening intently to the story and was drawn into the imaginative details, "So if it was all real, what _was_ the punishment for criminals?"

It was Lee's turn to interject, "Well it ranged for each of the kingdoms. Each kingdom governed itself differently, remember? So for the Faeries, like Rei said, it was banishment which was reserved for the most serious offenders. But most of all, because of this punishment, the Faerie kingdom had hardly any offenders. They saw everyone as equal, only those in the highest positions of power, like the Enchantress and the seven guardians, were held in high respect. Us Neko's had the cells for small offenders and the gallows for the worst sort. We don't know much about how the Shadow Crawlers dealt with it, I think that they just killed off those they didn't like, but the Avarians had the most diverse punishments. They..."

Ian looked up teasingly, "Gallows? Cells? Banishment? Sounds like these kingdoms were still living in the medieval times. So, let me guess. The Avarians had torture chambers, gallows, executions and witch drownings all mixed in one?"

Mariah didn't look amused at his comment, "One. The Faeries had magic and they weren't about to drown the whole Faerie kingdom. They weren't considered witches either. Two. Banishment was too good for them, so they set up a system that allowed for second and third chance but after that it was death. Not _executed_, they just killed the person right there."

"They gave them chances? What kind of people give criminals a second chance?"

Mariah glared once more at Ian and yelled at his face, "We gave you lot a second chance didn't we?"

Ian just looked at her blankly and said in a monotone voice, "Harsh Mariah. You hurt my feelings...to think _me_ a criminal. Honestly, I've never been caught in my life. You can't convict me without any proof."

Spencer slapped him over the head as he rolled his eyes, "What happened to 'No Lying and I'm going to get along with everyone'?"

"I lied." His reply earned him another slap over the head.

Mariah sighed and turned her back to him, to face everyone else, "As I was saying, they set up a system so that if you were caught for a menial offence you got a tattoo. Just a diagonal line across the right wrist. If you were caught again you got a second line, making it into an X. If someone was caught doing something wrong again, with an X on their wrists, they were usually taken to be punished. The punishment ranged from being imprisoned to being sold as a slave. Once the punishment was issued they would tattoo a circle around the X and if anything else would happen after that it was..." Instead of finishing the sentence Mariah drew her finger across her neck, indicating the punishment.

"Ooooooh. Ouch."

No one noticed Tala subconsciously draw his right arm back to him and rub his wrist.

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Well, for all of you who haven't read it yet, HOW WAS IT? And even if you HAVE read it before, please review again? I enjoy reviews. lol. 


	2. Befriending Thieves

I know I won't be getting many reviews for these first few chapters as I'm reloading them at around three or so at a time. So I hope that I'll get heaps of reviews over time and that you guys will REALLY like this story.

Here's chappie two...**

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Chapter Two: Befriending Thieves

All the teams spread themselves over the room and readied themselves for sleep. It was quite a humid night and with all lights extinguished throughout the house, the noises of the night grew. The teens were spread out on top of their bedrolls, all in shorts and t-shirt. After several moments of turning on his bedroll Rei sat up and looked around at the restless teenagers. He sighed and soon a small chuckle escaped his mouth. Every gaze in the room fell on his silouhette.

With her hands on her hips Mariah sat up and turned to her friend. "What is it Rei? What's so funny?"

Rei sighed once more and fell down onto his bedroll, "It's too hot for anyone to sleep. Everyone is so restless."

Emily sat up and leant on her elbow, as she looked over towards the Neko-jin who held everyone's attention, "The what can we do? There's no way that I'll be going to sleep anytime soon. I didn't realise it could be so hot in your village."

Rei let out another chuckle as Max caught their attention with an audible sigh, "You know I still can't get that story out of my head. I mean, wouldn't it be so cool to have wings, and be able to fly?"

Michael rolled onto his stomach and sniggered, "You know a faerie would suit you Maxie. Me, on the other hand-I would be an Avarian. They're everything I am. Strong, fast, _good looking_…"

"…_deadly_." They all turned to the sadistic voice, to find Brian smirking. "With what kitty said about them, those guys would make the _perfect_ assassins. Now that'd suit me fine."

Mariah glared to her foe, "It would."

Seeing the tension rise between Mariah and Brian, Lee glanced over to his old teammate to try and calm Mariah down… _before she does something stupid…_ Rei put a gentle arm on Mariah's shoulder and sat her down next to him. "So if no one can sleep, how about another story?"

With that, Max jumped up with his hand raised. "Yeah! Make it a good one!"

"Well, if you liked the story about the New World so much, I could tell you more about it."

Again, Max raised his hand enthusiastically, "Totally!"

Michael, wanting to hear more about the Avarian kingdom, spoke up over Max's loud shouting, "Tell us more about those assassins," he glanced sidewards to where Brian leant against the wall.

Rei made himself comfortable before talking, "Alright. Well let me think."

Lee looked up as a thought struck him, "Hey Rei, tell them about the mysterious disappearance of the Avarian prince."

Eddy motioned for Lee, "Why don't you? Why does Rei have to tell us all the stories?"

Lee rolled his eyes and was about to reply, before Mariah answered for him, "Because Lee is hopeless. Rei is the best story-teller out of the lot of us, so be quiet and let him start."

Eddy closed his mouth and as everyone settled in for the night, Rei began, "Well, long before the death of the Avarian King and Queen, the Prince, being only five, disappeared. He was never heard from again. It caused an uproar throughout the kingdom."

Emily's hands flew up to her mouth, "That's so sad. He was only five?"

"Yes. No one knew where he disappeared to…"

_The young avarian thief quietly crept through the halls of the castle. No sound came from him. It was a trick that his 'friends' had taught him. To be caught here, in the palace, would surely mean death. Quietly stepping around the corner he found small red eyes peering up at him. Jumping back in fright, he was about to run away when he saw the insignia of the young avarian child. This boy, this curious young child, was the Prince._

"_Are you meant to be here?"_

_The young thief clamped a hand over the Prince's mouth and put his other hand to his lips, "You have to be quiet," The Prince's brows creased in frustration, about to yell for his attendant. The thief, panicking, grabbed the Prince's purse as silent as he could, and let his victim go, "How about we play a game?"_

_Delighted in this the Prince jumped up and down, "What game? Can we play-"_

"_No-no-no. I have a game. Do you know how to play hide-and-seek?" The Prince nodded his head vigorously and the thief smiled, "Alright then. You be in. Count to 100 and then come and find me. Alright, start."_

_As he ran off he heard the Prince starting to count, "One, forty-three, twenty-seven, eighty-ten…"_

_As the noise gradually disappeared with the distance growing between the two, the thief sped off faster. With no one in his path the thief ran through the castle and jumped out of the open window. Wings spread, he soared out of view from the guards below, and landed in an alleyway. Ducking through the back streets of the town, the thief kept running. Turning the corner he stopped abruptly, when he came face to face with the face he was trying to run from. Laughing with glee the young Prince put his hand out and tapped the thief on his shirt. _

"_I found you. Now, you are in. Come and get me!"_

_The thief hesitated as he saw the young Prince run off. This area was known for its roughness, as it was where the thieves of the kingdom mainly dwelt. Cursing himself mentally for the guilt-trip he would have, if the Prince ran into any trouble, the thief ran after him. The Prince, being only five, was easy to find, but a pain to catch. With quick agility and able to fit through tight areas. The thief was having a hard time. Soon the Prince began to fall back, and the thief was able to pick him up._

"_You shouldn't go running through the town like that. It's dangerous for you."_

_The Prince's eyes began to swell up and he sniffled, "But you did. I was just catching you."_

_The thief set the Prince down and brought him into an alleyway, out of the viewer's gaze. "Alright, alright. Just calm down and don't cry." Frustrated, and confused as to what he could do, the thief sat down and put his hands in his face. He wasn't one to be kind and compassionate, but when it came to young children and babies, he couldn't say 'no'. He knew how it felt to have a dad who didn't want you, and didn't treat you very good, but being only eight, he still had plenty of time to grow up and experience more to life than just pick-pocketing, and stealing for a living. He had to admit though, being a thief was fun, and handy. You made quite a lot of friends, some loyal, others not quite so. Looking back up to the Prince, he noted that he had stopped crying and was looking at him in compassion._

"_Are you alright? Are you going to cry?"_

_The thief had to chuckle and scooped up the five-year-old in his hands. Pulling him into a more comfortable position, the thief flew off to one of his friends' house…_he'll know what to do_… _

_Landing at a small cottage he rapped on the door softly and opened it slightly, "Stefan? Are you here? I need some help."_

_A young man, around nineteen with short sandy-blonde hair, walked over to the door and peered around to find two visitors. "What can I do for you then, young one?"_

"_It followed me."_

_Stefan turned to the child in his young companions arms and took a step back, "What! Do you realise who that is? Why did he follow you and put him back where you found him!"_

_The young thief rolled his eyes and pushed through the open door and came inside. "I need help. I couldn't just leave him in the street; he's the Prince. Anyone with a smart mind would take that opportunity to make some money."_

_Stefan ran a hand down his face and picked up the Prince, "Can you go home by yourself? Do you know where your home is?"_

_The Prince smiled and nodded. He pointed in the direction of the castle and turned his gaze back to his newfound friend, "Are we going back home to play another game?"_

_It was the thief's turn to run a hand down his face as he growled, "See what I mean? If dad found out-"_

"_I know, I know. The Prince in his grip, and him being the King of Thieves… I understand. Well then, I guess we'll just have to bring him back to the castle ourselves."_

"_And risk getting caught! Are you crazy!"_

"_Calm down," Stefan sat on a stool in the kitchen and turned the Prince to face him, "Now, we're going to bring you home, but when hey ask where you have been, what are you going to say?"_

"_With my new friend."_

"_Friend?" the thief slumped onto the floor and fell back, "Great. The first friend near to my age, and it's the Prince. What would my ...dad say?"_

"_He won't find out now, will he?"_

_The Prince shook his head in agreement and clambered off Stefan's lap. "I want to go home now. I want mummy and daddy."_

_The thief jumped up and smiled, "Alright. But when they ask where you were, you say, 'Playing a game of hide-and-seek with the guards.' Say you were running away from them."_

_As the Prince vigorously nodded his head, Stefan set him down and opened the door cautiously. "Now let's go."_

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Awww... Cute little Prince, isn't he? lol. Please review! 


	3. Bound To Blood

Here's Chapter Three. Enjoy...

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**Chapter Three: Bound to Blood**

_One Year Later…_

"_Hide-and-Seek! Hide-and-Seek!" The Prince jumped around tirelessly as he looked to his friend._

"_Come on. Whenever you want to play a game it's _always_ hide-and-seek. Isn't there a different game ye wanna play?"_

_The red-eyed boy looked to the thief and grinned, "Catch?"_

_This made the thief grin and then nod, "Alright, you try and catch me again. You're getting better at keeping up with me."_

_As the thief ran off he thought back to the first meeting with his friend. The Prince had been able to follow him, and even after they had set him back at the castle, each week from then on he had been able to make his way to the secret hide away, and had never been caught. Each week came time for new chances in teaching the Prince to fend for himself, and the thief was amazed at how quickly the young child had learnt. He was now able to pickpocket off guards without any realisation, and after a brutal lesson in weaponry, he could hide any weapon and draw it at will without any hesitation._

_The Prince, after counting to fifty, ran away in search of his comrade, with a pair of eyes following his every move. The King and Queen had noted their sons disappearing acts and after talking with his attendant, who had no idea where he ran off to all the time, had come to the decision that he must be followed. Now every time the Prince crept away, his attendant followed, and had been since a week before._

"_Caught you!" The Prince ran into his friend and tried to tackle him to the ground. "See. You can't run away from me, I'm too quick for you."_

_With both boys laughing in glee, the attendant used that time to send for the guards he had waiting and in no time, ten big and burly guards surrounded the two boys._

"_You know, Your Highness, you shouldn't befriend _thieves_." The attendant came into view of the two boys and smiled evilly._

_The Prince stood up and glared to his attendant, "What do you want, Boris? He's my friend, we're just playing."_

_Boris smirked and issued a quiet order to his guards, who picked the nine-year-old thief up from his feet and started to carry him off towards the palace. The Prince threw his arms at the guards holding him and began to scream, "You can't do this. He's my friend! He's my friend!"_

_The thief was brought into the magnificent throne room where he awaited his judgement. The guards holding him threw him to his knees, in respect for royalty. The King and Queen, elegantly dressed but with scowls on their face, entered the throne room. Both King and Queen walked slowly to their thrones and seated. The King scowled as he noticed the thief in his presence, while his wife leant back and sighed. "We try to do all we possibly can to bring our son up with only the best influence, and then we find out he would rather befriend a thief and run away at night." She turned to the Prince who had been brought in over the guard's shoulder and motioned for him to come forward. With tears running down his face, he ran over to his mother and hugged her in hope for comfort. "No. I expected more from you than this, my son."_

_The King, watching from the side, leant over and placed his son on his lap, "Your mother is right, son. You are going to be King one day. You can not go running off when you please, and _especially_ not with thieves."_

_With tears growing in his eyes the Prince buried his face in his father's tunic. A small muffled voice was heard from him, "But he's my friend…"_

_The Queen sighed as she stood to her feet. The King followed suit with his son in his arms. "Guards, bring the thief forward." The guards pulled the thief forward and stood on either side. "Show me his wrist." The guard on his right took the thief by his right arm and pulled his sleeve down until his wrist was exposed. One diagonal line was revealed and scowls crossed both parents' faces. "A common thief, a criminal. Boris. Step forward."_

_The young Prince's attendant came forth and bowed. "Yes, Your Highness?"_

"_You said you saw this rogue teaching our son some inappropriate methods of fighting?"_

_Boris bowed his head slightly in reply, "Indeed."_

_The King placed his son in front of him with a firm grip on his shoulders. "I want him brought away and punished. Have him be given the royal insignia. I will not have a thief bring up my son."_

_A scream left the Prince's mouth as he tried to run forward to help his friend. The thief was brought away until only the King and Queen were left standing with their son crying in plea for him. The Prince looked up in despair and burst out in tears again. Admidst his bawling he tried to appeal for his friend, "Why? - He wasn't hurting me… He's my friend… You can't do that- I won't let you!"_

_With his outburst finished he threw his arms down and ran out of the room. The King went to follow, but the Queen held him back, "Let him go, honey. Let him calm down by himself."_

_The King sat back down onto his throne and sighed, "But what if he was right? It was true that the thief wasn't hurting him-what if we could trust him…"_

"… _a thief? Darling, the only way we could trust him would be for-" She paused as the thought struck them both. The idea was forming in their heads, but they knew all the dignitaries would never agree with it…but it would only be for a little while. If he doesn't meet our standards, we will get rid of him. But with a vow… The King sat up abruptly and sent for his guard. "I want that thief brought to me. Bring him to me later tonight. When the Prince is asleep. I shall see him then in my study."_

_The guard bowed in response and left the room. The Queen put a hand on her husband's shoulder and led him from the room. "Do you think you are doing the right thing?"_

"_I don't know…"_

_Darkness was falling when the thief was abruptly pulled from his prison cell and brought through the palace. With no idea where they were going the only thought running through him was that there was not going to be a short drop and a sudden stop for him. The very idea of him being hung for befriending the Prince sent shivers down his spine. After several turns his anticipation rose when two doors swung wide open to reveal the King's personal study. With heart racing the thief did all he could from trying to get out of the guards grip and bolting for the exit. On a stool, placed in front of the hearth for warmth, sat the King. When the door had opened he had stood and was awaiting the prisoner to be brought forward. He sat back down once the doors were shut and motioned for all of his attendants to leave the room. Only his personal attendant stayed._

"_Voltaire, can you bring him here?"_

_His attendant walked over to the dirty boy, and put a firm hand on his back. Leading him over to the King, he was placed in front of him, so the King could view him better. "My wife and I have been talking and it seems that our son wants you to be let free. Can you think why that is?"_

_The thief took a hesitant step forward and said softly, "I'm his friend, sire."_

_The King leant back with in amusement and chuckled softly, "I didn't think the day would come that my son, the next in heir to the throne, would befriend a thief."_

"_I'm sorry your Highness?" Voltaire stepped forward in disagreement, "Are you saying that you are allowing this-this-"_

"_Yes, Voltaire, I think I am."_

"_But-but-Your Highness…" The King raised a hand for silence and stood up._

"_I am only allowing it on one condition." The thief's eyes grew wide at thought that he would be let free and still be allowed to be friends with the Prince. "You are not to steal ever again. Do you understand me? And I am not just saying this because it is my kingdom you are stealing off-" The thief nodded and smiled in recognition of the small joke, "But I don't want you to teach my son anything about thieving, or your way of fighting. That is not the way for a Prince to behave. There is also one other condition to this, if you want to be able to stay here in the palace." His eyes flew wide… a thief? In the palace? A proper room with proper food_..._ The King watched the thief's face for his reaction. What he saw set another chuckle to leave his mouth. "So you agree? You want to stay? Well there is only one thing you need to do. I want you to vow. You are to vow that you will not steal, or teach my son any more thieving techniques. You are to watch my son and protect him. If anything is to happen to him, I will lay blame on you, do you understand? Now I am giving you a big chance, for a thief. If you don't think you could do it, or you don't want to, I can always-"_

"_I will!" The interjection stunned the King and Voltaire stepped forward with arm raised. He was about to teach the miscreant the proper ways to respect a King when the King himself stepped in._

"_Voltaire! You are not to touch him. He is to make his vow, and then a cot will be set up in his charge's room. He will be treated like any other dignitary, I have given him a chance for a new life and with this vow his crimes are to be forgotten." The thief rubbed his right wrist. The King, noticing this, took his wrist and held it in view. "You have this tattoo so you will remember your vow. Now, are you ready?"_

_Looking into the King's gaze the thief slowly nodded his head as he swallowed back the doubt. To vow, would mean that he would be in debt for life. Avarians didn't go back on their promises no matter what. They would do anything to keep their vows sacred. Anything…_

"_I'm ready…"_

_From behind the door, another young avarian watched. The Queen had sent for him knowing that because he was small he could fit into tight places and listen in with no fear of being caught. Even being caught wasn't a problem, because he would very easily get away with it. His grandfather was a highly renowned noble, and a good friend to the Royal family. With his parent's death, when he was young, he had been brought up by his grandfather and although he despised his grandfathers forever-daily-happiness he would do anything to please him, even watch a street rat like this thief, in front of him, for the Queen._

_He turned back to the scene in front of him and watched intently. The thief was pledging a vow of protection to the King, promising to keep the Prince safe until he was crowned King. The young avarian noble, thinking that he had seen enough, ran off to where the Queen awaited his news. He ran into her bedroom and bowed in front of her. Sitting next to her was his grandfather, also waiting for what he had to say. The Queen smiled to him and motioned for him to sit on the ground to catch his breath. _

"_Please, tell me what happened. What did he do?"_

_The young noble sat where he was and looked up to his Queen, "The King made him vow. He said that the thief had to promise to protect the Prince, and that if anything happened to the Prince, he would be blamed. He has the crown on his tattoo. If anything happens to the Prince, he'll be brought to you and the King."_

_The Queen nodded her thanks and turned to the elder noble for advice, "Do you think this is right? That boy is a thief, and he is allowing our son to learn from a miscreant such as he."_

"_I'm not sure, milady. Maybe it will turn out better than expected. He is only young. Let him choose his own friends. You won't be there for him all the time, so you need to let him learn from his own mistakes. But then again, it might not be a mistake at all."_

_Looking to him softly she sighed and turned to her old friend's grandchild. "Brian, can you do something for me?"_

_The avarian nodded his head in response, "Anything."_

"_I want you to make a vow to me. I want you to vow that you will protect my son aswell. You are to watch that thief and make sure that if anything does happen, you will protect my son and bring authority to whoever is responsible. You are to watch that thief, that he doesn't do anything against our law. He may be welcomed here now, but that won't mean that he is no longer a thief. He is to be watched and watched very carefully. Understood?"_

_With mouth agape he slowly nodded his head. He didn't trust the thief either and the Prince was a very good friend of his. To be held with such a responsibility overwhelmed him. "Yes. I'll do it. I'll make the vow."_

_And as Brian made the vow, they never saw that though the door was only ajar a tiny bit, it was enough for a certain thief to hear from. With a stern look on his face he turned away and headed down the halls for the Prince's room. He was bound to the vow; bound to his friend, bound to blood…_

"Tala? Are you deaf! I said, what about you?" Mariah stood there with hands on hips glaring at him after several moments with no answer. She stormed back over to where she had been seated moments ago and leant against the wall. "Were you even listening to us? Everyone was giving their theories about what happened to the Prince, and I decide to ask you and you ignore me." Tala stayed where he was and didn't move. Mariah's eyes narrowed down as she saw his response, "Are you going to answer or not? What do you think happened to the Prince?"

_Avarians hate to lie…_

"I… don't know."

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Sooo... how did you like it so far? You're welcome to review each chapter seperately... I wouldn't mind. But please, PLEASE review... 


	4. True Identities

Chapter Four up... Enjoy...

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**Chapter Four: True Identities**

"You don't know? Oh, that's good. Can't you be a bit more creative?" Mariah stood with her hands on her hips as she questioned Tala's answer.

"What about 'he fell off a cliff'? Would that suit you better?" She could hear the sarcasm in his voice.

"Atleast it's better than 'I dunno'." Tala rolled his eyes in reply.

Lee pulled Mariah down and looked to the clock. "Guys it's getting late. How about we _really_ get to sleep now?"

Choruses of agreement sounded throughout the room as the teens finally settled in for the night. Silence soon filled the room and darkness settled in as all the lights were extinguished. Soon all of the teams were sound asleep in their bedrolls.

A loud crash was heard throughout the house, waking all that were asleep. As they rubbed their eyes they heard some mutters of annoyance from within the kitchen.

"Whoops... That doesn't go there... No, no!"

Another loud crash was heard and Kevin jumped out of the kitchen, to find all eyes set on him. "I didn't do it."

"Kevin!"

"What? I was just..." Kevin wasn't able to finish as Mrs Kon entered the room with a stern look on her face. Kevin smiled unsurely and looked up to her. "You see, it wasn't my fault, Mrs Kon. I opened up the draws to, well, I just..."

Mrs Kon crossed her hands and nodded her head. "I understand Kevin." Kevin relaxed and walked over to the couch. "I also understand that you are going to walk back in there and clean up that mess."

Kevin stood up in protest. "But..."

"I don't want to hear any buts, Kevin. Go, now."

Kevin got up and slowly walked into the kitchen while everyone else decided it was time to get up. Mrs Kon smiled to everyone and started walking into the kitchen. "Breakfast anyone?"

After not too long there was a vast feast put before them, Mrs Kon insisting that breakfast was the most important meal of the day and that they must all have their fill. Layed out before them was eggs, bacon, breadrolls and a wide selection of fruit. With eyes wide in awe Tyson peered at all the food set around the table.

"I'm in heaven! Wow, Rei, your mum is a good cook."

Rei smiled and seated himself between Mariah and Lee. "Yeah, well that doesn't help if she actually _likes_ to cook."

Tyson's smile widened, "Even better."

From the corner of the table Tala nudged Kai and grabbed a breadroll. He brought his head closer to Kai's as he whispered in his ear. "I know someone who can put on a better feast then this, hey?"

Kai smirked and leant over to pick up a plate. As he started to pile his plate Tala looked over to the assortment. "So does this mean I need proper etiquette? Like using a plate?"

Kai shook his head in disapproval and laughed silently, "Yes, Tala, it does. Now get one."

Tala leant over the table to reach the pile of plates. While reaching over his jacket sleeve came up to reveal a black mark that just happened to catch Mariah's attention. She thought she saw the top of a circle and became more interested. Knowing that Tala wasn't one to just answer all questions thrown at him she decided to enlist some help. Leaning over she saw Michael's wallet hanging out of his pocket and took it carefully, placing it on the side of the couch. Michael, not noticing that, got up and proceeded to pile his own plate with food. Tala had just passed by him and Mariah stuck her foot out causing him to stumble into Michael. Michael just pushed Tala away and continued to pile his plate.

Mariah didn't want to make it look too suspicious, or get too messy, so she let everyone finish eating before she decided to cause trouble. It wasn't long before everyone had finished so she leant over to Michael and whispered, "Hey, do you have your wallet on you?"

He looked at her confused but checked anyway, "No. Where'd it go?"

She looked back at him, "Well I just thought I'd ask because when I saw Tala bump into you before it looked like he put a wallet or something up his right sleeve."

Michael got up from his seat with a grim expression on his face as he headed over to Tala. Yanking Tala's right wrist he pulled him up and pointed his finger right at Tala's face. "Where'd ya put it? Give it back dork."

Tala got up and pushed Michael away, "What d'ya think you're doing?"

Mariah pulled on Michael's shirt until he was at her height. "Check his sleeve."

Michael grabbed Tala's wrist once more but when he went to pull it up Tala hit his hand away, "What are you doing? Leave me alone freak."

Michael just grabbed his wrist in a better grip and when Tala tried to pull away Michael realised he'd have to try harder. Pulling Tala into a headlock he slammed him down on the ground and pulled up his right sleeve. Everyone else was watching in surprise as the two battled it out. What the sleeve revealed shocked both Michael and the Neko-jins. It was definitely not a wallet but what lay before them was a tattoo. One exactly like what the story told; a cross with a circle around the edge, though it beared a little bit extra because below the circle was a crown.

Tala pulled away and shoved Michael back while quickly pulling his sleeve down, "What the hell are you doing, you psycho?"

Mariah just got Michael's wallet out and chucked it to him, "Sorry, but I wanted to find out what that was." Looking to Tala she pointed a finger at him accusingly, "You're an avarian! And a criminal too! What could you have possibly done to earn that mark?"

Everyone else, other than the Neko-jins, caught on but were still questioning. Emily asked the question that they were all thinking, "You mean that story is true? About the Avarians, Faeries and stuff?"

Eddy interjected, "How can it be true? That stuff is like fairy tales?"

Mariah was ignoring everyone's questions and was still glaring at Tala. Lee had suddenly looked defensive as he stared at the avarian criminal while Kevin, Rei and Gary all had looks of pure surprise on their faces. Lee, wanting to find out the reason for him having the punishment of the worse offence on his wrist, stood up and took hold of his sister's arm as he demanded Tala for an answer. "What did you do? You have the full circle, but you also have the crown."

Tyson looked to him questioningly, "You've told us what the circle and the X are for, but what is the crown for? Is he like a noble or something?"

"Far from it I bet!" Tala glared at Mariah's insult.

"What would you know. You have no idea about how I got this, and you don't have a clue of the reason either."

"Then tell us the reason!" Tala just stuck up his middle finger in answer which earnt him a very hard slap from Mariah.

"Don't use those kinds of gestures!" Tala turned around and started heading for the door, not wanting to have to explain anything. Lee grabbed his arm and pulled him onto one of the couches. Brian moved over to stand up for his friend.

"Just leave him alone. If he doesn't want to tell, then you don't have to make him, got it?" Lee didn't falter and instead looked to Brian.

"I think it would be better if he did, perhaps then it would put us all at ease."

Kevin smirked and eyed Tala, "It means that he did a criminal offence against the crown. If he ever goes back to the world and gets caught for an offence, it means he goes straight to the royalty, no questions ask. After that, well, it usually means death." Kevin leant back into the couch as he looked to Tala, "You gotta feel sorry for him though, with how their kingdom is at now."

Tala just looked to Kevin, "What?"

"You know, with the King and Queens death, and then the new ruler coming in. That place is in shambles."

Rei spoke up before Kevin could continue, "Take the peasants for example. Now that the treaty has been broken the trade has stopped which means all imports and exports have stopped. The peasants have to grow their own food or trade with others in their own town, but its just been made harder with the new taxes being introduced all the time. The place is in an uproar."

Tala looked stunned, "When did all of this happen? I was there when the King and Queen died, but when did it all fall apart?"

Kevin looked to him weirdly, "How long have you been away?"

"Nearly ten years. I don't know where the portal is so I've never been able to get back."

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It's all starting to unfold piece by piece, isn't it? If you think you know what's gonna happen, intrigue mewith your ideas. But only if you haven't read it yet. lol. Otherwise that would be cheating. Review please... 


	5. The Prince Of Elerrian

Woah. I didn't think that I'd get any reviews for a while. But, with only updating it yesterday, I GOT THREE! YAY FOR ME!SO THANKYOU TO THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE...

**Phoenix from the Flames-2:** I think I'll keep everything the same. For a while it'll just be copy and paste, so I don't think I'll add anything different to the chapters. Okay? I hope that's alright, it's just easier for me. Quicker to get to the chappie we were up to so that you can read more on it.

**Prisca-Angel:** The OC's won't be coming for a VERY long time. lol. Sorry. They're the romance for the end, but first they need to start their journey. Sooo... I hope you keep on reading and keep on enjoying the story.

**Haro-Haro:** As I said, I'll try and update three chappies at a time for you guys. So this chappie is for you. lol. Enjoy!

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**Chapter Five: The Prince Of Elerrian**

Max went to talk but closed his mouth before any words came out. Looking around he decided to ask his question anyway. "So, what you're trying to tell us is that this world is real, Tala is one of those bird avarian thingoes and that there is actually a portal to another world?" He took a breath as he continued his sentence, "Can we go?"

He was replied with several 'NO's by the Neko-jins, Tala and surprisingly enough the Majestics had voiced their disapproval as well.

Max looked to The Majestics and raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you guys answer?"

Oliver was quick to answer, "Because I, and my team, do not wish to, in any way, go traversing through another world that is so far behind our own that they must use out-houses for latrines and ride a horse anywhere they wish to go. I do not mean to say that I don't like horse riding it's just that after a substantial amount of time you start to reconsider your choice in transport."

Tyson gawped at how he was able to use so many big words in one sentence just to make himself look smart. "Okay. Let's pretend, for Max's sake, that all those big words confused the whole sentence. Now remember this is for Max's sake."

Enrique chuckled as he leant back into his chair. "What my comrade is trying to say is that horse riding makes you a bit sore after a while and they'd prefer not to go back to the Stone Age due to their current upbringing."

Tyson nodded in understanding and settled back down. "So-What did you mean by 'go back'? Does that mean you've been there before? I mean, you didn't seem at all surprised at the story, so I was just thinking that you already knew it, you know."

Mariah looked around with her hands on her hips, "Okay. How did this conversation change from interrogating Tala, to asking the Majestics if they've been to the other world? Like Enrique said, it's not as advanced as us, though not the Stone Age. They wouldn't stand one day there."

"You don't think we could? I'm hurt, Mariah." Enrique played his question with mock hurt.

Mariah threw her arms at her side in frustration and sat down. Folding her arms she muttered, "Yeah, well I still don't think you would last a day."

It was Johnny's turn to stand in defence. Standing up he walked over to where Mariah sat, "You think he's the only one who comes form that world?" He motioned to Tala with his arm, then moved it to his team, "Yeah, that's what I said. We have a Faerie in our team. _That's_ how we know about it."

Tyson and Max turned to eachother and burst out laughing. Wiping away a tear Tyson pointed to Robert, "Let me guess. He's the little prancing fairy?"

"Not the kind that are one inch tall, Tyson. The ones in the story." Enrique chuckled as the thought of Robert as a small fairy, flying around and prancing… _Now that's a funny thought_… "But the answer to your question is 'yes'. Robert is a faerie."

Rei could see that there was more behind this than just Robert. He turned his head to Enrique in question, "From the sounds of all this, I would think that _you_ were the team captain. Is there anything else you wish to tell us?"

Enrique chuckled again and suddenly a bright light engulfed him. When the light subdued, his clothes had changed. The All Starz and Tyson and Max stood gawking at the once human teen. Before them now stood a Faerie. He had maintained his original height but his clothes had changed. He now had a white tunic that went half way down his thighs and was tied at his waist with some golden cord. Cream pants were shown underneath with white boots that covered up to his ankles. (AN-think Legolas from Lord of the Rings only white and cream sort of colours) Everything he was wearing was embroidered with golden intricate designs but what caught everyone's attention, especially the Neko-jins, was the white gold chain that ran around his head that held a small pendant that stayed in it's place at the top of his forehead.

"What the hell?" Enrique looked over to Mariah and raised an eyebrow at the shock in her voice.

"Do you really think my team couldn't last out there now?"

Eddy raised a hand, "Wait!" Everyone looked to him as he went to speak again. "I am getting _very_ confused. From what has happened in the last five, ten minutes or so, I've only been able to pick up on a small bit. Tala's a bird thingo with marks on his wrist saying that he's a crook, Robert _and_ Enrique are Faeries who just changed automatically...is there anything else that can be made clear?"

Mariah looked to Enrique, "Perhaps you should explain you're part in all this, then Robert can explain his..."

"And then Tala can explain his story which he's been avoiding." Tala sent Lee a glare as he was brought back into the spotlight against his will.

Enrique sat up straight and looked to Tyson, "What's there to explain? Robert and I are Faeries and we're from the other world. We came here simply because I was getting bored were I was. Robert had to tag along because his family already had residence in this world, which they established back about 100 years ago."

"Roberts 100 years old?"

"What? No Tyson! I mean that his _family_ established the house."

"I've seen Robert's place. It's no house."

"Alright Tyson, they established the _castle_. May I continue?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thank you. Well, as I was saying, seeing as though Robert lived here, in this world, I thought I would stay here for a while. And I did. We met up with Johnny and then Oliver came. They know about our secret already, though," They heard Robert mutter about Enrique being the fault behind that. Enrique took no offence and went on. " So ever since then, I've been here. For about one year now."

Lee raised an eyebrow and motioned to the chain around Enrique's head. "Okay then. Now explain that."

Oliver stood up and moved over to where Enrique stood, "What's to explain? You remember the status role of the Faerie kingdom? Well, Enrique is Enchantresses son. His sister is still at the kingdom, though. Quite cute too." His last remark earnt him a slight glare form Enrique.

The All Starz looked at Enrique with mouths agape. Emily looked to Mariah and sheepishly said, "So, he's like, Prince?"

Enrique bowed dramatically to the group in front of him, "Prince Enrique of the Faerie kingdom, Ellerian. It means, 'Crowned with stars'."

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I hope you guys keep on reviewing cause I _love_ reading them and replying to anything you want to say to me. Soooooo... PLEASE REVIEW! 


	6. Those Left In Rule

Chappie Six is up..

Enriques a Prince? Well... who was to know.  
ME! That's who... Hope you guys enjoy this chapter... What information are they gonna find out next?

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**Chapter Six: Those Left In Rule**

"Enrique's a Prince?" Tyson and Max looked to each other in silent recognition then burst out laughing in unison. "That's the funniest thing I've heard in ages!"

Enrique rolled his eyes. He had expected this reaction, as it had been the same when Johnny and Oliver had found out. Yet after actually taking them to the kingdom and showing them around they had come to the realisation that faeries did exist.

"Wait!" The Majestics turned their view to where Tala stood, arms crossed. "You mean you came from the other world? That means you know where the portal is."

As Enrique nodded his head Rei laughed, "You know Tala, if you wanted to go to the other world you should have asked us Neko-jins. We did come from there, remember? But what I want to know is if you did come from there, why do you need help in finding where the portal is?"

Tala sighed, "This means I have to explain everything, don't I?"

Quite a various amount of responses were heard, all indicating the same thing; they wanted to know his stories.

Kevin sniggered and leant back into his chair, "Yeah, don't think that you're gonna get outta it that easy."

Tala glared at him and leant forward, "What's to tell... I got brought here when I was young. I didn't see where the portal was and I've been stuck here since then. I was about nine years old and that was eight years ago."

Kevin frowned, "You said ten years before."

Frustrated, Tala threw his arms in the air and stood, "Haven't you ever heard of rounding up? I could just as easily _not_ tell you the story. I don't see what it'll accomplish if you know anyway."

"No, tell us. Kevin's just trying to be annoying." Tala looked to Rei and then glared at Kevin who shrunk back at the intensity of it.

"I've already told you all there is to it anyway. I was brought here when I was young and was never shown where the portal was."

Mariah stood and placed her hands on her hips. "You haven't explained the part where you did some sort of crime, got caught, did something again, and got caught. Again. You know, the tattoo on your wrist!"

"All I did was steal something. And it was only one bloody offence!"

"You need to offend at least three times to get all of that!"

"Not if certain people have certain vendettas!"

"Looking at your attitude I wouldn't be surprised!"

"Yeah, well your attitude aint that pleasant either Pinkie."

"Pinkie!"

"Can you both please try not to shout. My parents are around here somewhere." Mariah and Tala looked to Rei and glared.

Hearing a smirking laugh (is that possible. Lol) from Brian both of them looked over. Tala sighed in frustration at the look on Brian's face. The look of superiority-which Tala hated the most.

"Don't you start Brian. I've been sick of hearing your jibes from the first day I knew you."

Mariah looked to Brian and raised an eyebrow. "You knew?"

Brian didn't get to answer because Tala laughed and said, "Of course he knew. He bloody knew from the first day because he bloody had to watch me and make sure I bloody didn't..." Tala trailed off, not liking having to remember the mistrust of the Queen at having him around.

"Make sure you didn't what? Kill anyone?"

"You know. You-Are-Really-Annoying...Pinkie." Mariah looked about ready to punch Tala into another dimension so Rei grabbed her hand and gently lead her back over to the couch. Sitting her down he started calming her down.

Lee looked to Tala curiously. "You said he had to watch you. Who told him to watch you? And if they knew you were Avarian why would they put a human on guard to watch you?"

Tala smirked at Brian and Brian knew that he was about to get found out. Tala wasn't in a good mood and was deciding to be a jerk to him for payback.

"Oh, you don't know?" Tala's voice was dripping with fake surprise. "Brian's an Avarian too. Except much to the shock and amusement of it all he's actually a noble." Everyone was surprised to hear that. "But I guess if you didn't know that you wouldn't know that it was the Queen who told him to watch me. Or that it was his _grandfather_ who agreed and counselled the Queen in making it happen." Brian stood up and looked ready to help Mariah in sending Tala to that other dimension. Tala ignored Brian and continued on though. "Oh. Wait. You don't know who his grandfather is either. Do you?" The sarcasm in his voice was hard to miss. "You know the head of the BBA? Mr Dickinson. Do you want to know who Brian's relative is? Mr Dickinson. Wow."

Brian growled and said through clenched teeth, "One of these days you'll go too far thief." The last word was filled with loathing.

Tala didn't even flinch as he spoke back. "You think you can stop me? Just try."

Kai had been sitting back enjoying the trouble that Tala was causing but thought he'd better cool the two down before they started fighting...again. No matter how much he tried both just seemed to like getting on the others nerves. Brian hated the thought of the Prince being friends with a thief and Tala disliked Brian's thoughts of him betraying the Prince. Time with Boris-the ultimate thief and crook-had helped him become more tolerant of Tala, but his thought were still the same. Once a thief, always a thief.

Kai coughed loud enough to get the attention of the two. They looked over, still glaring, but stopped when they saw Kai looking at them. His face was one they had seen many times...shut up and calm down.

Seeing the two had calmed down slightly Rei thought it might be all right to ask another question. "Mr Dickinson? How can he be related to you? That would make him..."

"Yes, he's an Avarian." Brian's straight forward answer cut him off. "He and the Queen told me to watch the thief so that he wouldn't harm the Prince. When the Prince was kidnapped me and the crook were brought here-kidnapped too. I didn't even realise my grandfather was here until I saw him at the tournament. Guess Boris tried to hide it from me."

"You were kidnapped with the Prince? Does that mean you know where the Prince is?"

Brian was about to answer but it was Tala's turn to cut him off. "He's back in the other world. That's why we want to get back there; to find him again."

Another story was coming back to Rei's mind. He stared off as he thought about it and then realised that it must be true. "You mean that story about a thief befriending the Prince, it's true?"

Tala rolled his eyes and nodded. He was starting to get sick of all the explaining that he had to do. "Yeah it's true. I stole his purse- He followed me- I couldn't get rid of him- His dad found out- I got the blame...yadda yadda yadda."

"And you had to make a vow to watch him?"

"Yes. Is that all the interrogation? Or am I free to leave?"

He heard a muttering from Mariah, "Leave."

Ray scowled at Mariah and whispered to her quietly, "Calm down. Even if you don't like him at least don't scare him off." He didn't wait for a reply as he turned back to Brian. "So what's your story?"

Brian was more lenient in talking, surprisingly. "I already said most of it. I was told to watch the thief after he was made to make the vow to watch the Prince. I was already friends with the Prince and so nothing really changed. Then one day Boris -the Prince's assistant- decided to kidnap the Prince with the help of Voltaire. Voltaire was the King and Queen's adviser."

"What?" The exclamation was heard by all five Neko-jins and the two Faeries.

It was Brian's turn to raise an eyebrow.

Rei explained. "The Prince's assistant and the King and Queen's adviser took it upon themselves to take over the running of the kingdom due to the absence of the King and Queen."

Mariah looked shocked. "Boris and Voltaire are ruling the Avarian kingdom?"

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Dun dun daaaaaaaaah... OH NO! The plot begins to unfold...

Please review!


	7. Of Dreams And Promises

Hope you guys enjoy Chapter Seven...

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**Chapter Seven: Of Dreams And Promises**

"Unfortunately, yes. Boris and Voltaire wouldn't stop going on about it, gloating all the time. But what could we do about it? We were their prisoners, and it's not like we could have overthrown them, they're Avarians aswell, remember?"

All mouths were wide open in shock thinking the same thing ..._Uh Oh..._ Emily slumped down and frowned.

"But it took a lot to defeat them at the tournament," she paused as the realisation hit her. "I feel sorry for the Avarians."

Tyson piped up confidently. "Well what are we waiting for. We beat them once didn't we? Let's go do it again!"

"Yeah!" Max piped in, jumping up. A hand placed on Max's shoulder pushed him back down.

"No." He looked up to Tala.

"Why not?"

"Several reasons. You're ill equipped; you have no idea of anything that goes on in that world like proper conduct, trade and other such stuff. You have no idea what to take and you won't have access to the stuff anyway. And... None of you would be able to handle it, let alone defeat Boris and Voltaire."

Rei looked to Tala. "Actually I'd be able to get a hold of most of the things we'd need. Us Neko-jins _do_ guard the portal remember. We have another village on the other side…" Rei trailed off as another thought came to him. He looked to Tala then to Kai as he spoke. "You said that Voltaire is an avarian."

Tala gave him a simple nod as Rei continued, "But that's impossible. That would mean Kai would be an avarian, and he can't be because he has red eyes and…"

"And what?" Tala crossed his arms and leant against the wall. "Did the thought ever occur to you that he may have been adopted? Think about it. If Voltaire had a human heir then he'd have someone to take over his role as 'supreme ruler' while he stayed in the New World. Thus his intentions of taking over the world during the tournament."

"Awww…I didn't know you were adopted Kai." Kai resisted the urge of flattening Tyson for his remark.

Rei sat back as he thought on the answer that Tala had given him. To him, it seemed to be the truth but there was something bugging him. Something was missing…_or being hidden. If Tala had to make that vow to protect the Prince then why is the Prince in the other World and not here?_

His thoughts were cut off as Tyson remembered their former conversation. "Soooo…when are we leaving?"

Tala looked to him and scowled. "You can't come."

Tyson just scowled back and poked out his tongue. "It's not up to you." He looked to Rei and pouted. "Reeiiiii…can we go? Please…?"

Rei laughed and looked to the rest of the group who were eagerly awaiting an answer. "I guess so…if you all want to. I will have to ask my dad first but I guess it should be okay."

"Alright!" Tyson punched the air then poked his tongue out at Tala again. "When are we leaving?"

Not long later Rei had the permission that they had needed from his father and the group had set off on a trek through the surrounding woods with Rei's dad accompanying them. A while after they had set out the group came to a cave.

"It's in the cave, isn't it?"

Kevin looked to Ian and raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know?"

"So predictable. The lair is _always_ in the cave."

Rei chuckled and shaking his head he walked in, leading the rest. His dad had stayed behind as everyone else entered the cave. Walking through the cave it had soon become a lot darker than they had thought possible. Suddenly the cave started lighting up and everyone was soon shielding their eyes at the sudden transfer from dark cave to bright sunlight.

Gasps were heard as those who had never been through the portal looked at the grasslands they had come out to. They looked around in awe and Max laughed as he pointed to something in the distance. "Is that the other Neko-jin village? I think I can see it."

Tyson looked to Max and they both laughed. "This place is awesome."

Tala looked to Brian and smirked in a silent 'I told you we'd find a way'.

Rei started walking towards the village. Looking behind him, he called to everyone over his shoulder. "Come on guys. Let's go."

Tyson and Max started running to catch up to Rei. Tyson turned around and yelled to everyone else. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" At the challenge everyone…make that almost everyone…started running. Three young teens were left to watch the backs of the groups slowly disappear. Kai sighed and shook his head.

"I can't believe they're still immature enough to do that 'last one there' thing. You think they would have grown up. And look." Kai motioned for the end of the group where Robert and Enrique stood, "Looks like they couldn't quite keep up."

Kai, Brian and Tala chuckled to themselves in amusement as the two Faeries transformed into their Faerie clothing with butterfly type wings to follow. Lifting up in the air they flew off landing right in front of the group, before everyone.

"Cheats." Brian glared at their far away backs and smirked, "If we go now, you know, we could still beat them. How about it?"

Tala rolled his eyes and took a side-ward glance at Kai, "You know that would mean leaving _him_ here." He motioned for Kai with his head and continued walking. "We'll get there when we get there, okay?"

It wasn't long till everyone had made it to the Neko-jin village. They were all inside a tavern cooling down with drinks of water when Rei came back in with a smile. "Well, I've organised everything and we're good to go but..."

"There's always a but. What is it?"

Rei only glanced at Ian as he continued talking. "It's not that bad, just that some people are suggesting we leave tomorrow because there's a storm on the way. They say that it'll be gone by tomorrow morning."

Eddie went to the door and opened it slightly, glancing outside, then closed it and walked back over. "I didn't see any clouds before. How'd they manage to creep up like that?"

Tala smirked and leant on the door. "Didn't you know? Here in this world they have a big shiny red button that when pushed it changes the weather."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. No need to be sarcastic."

Rei just laughed softly then glanced at the stairs. "I've already organised rooms for us all. Five rooms, one team in each room." Looking around he clapped his hands together. "Well, I guess we should all have something to eat and then head to bed."

_Feeling a hand around his mouth, the five-year old woke to see two black figures standing above him. Feeling the danger, the young avarian jumped out of bed and ran to the corner of his room away from any danger._

"_What are you doing in my room? Who are you?"_

_Two evil sniggers were heard as the men moved in around him. As the child took a deep breath he looked around the room in fear. A loud scream was heard from a room close by, a scream, which told the youngling instantly that his mother needed help. Thinking of nothing but his mother in danger he took the chance to run away. Bolting to the door he flung it open and ran towards his parent's room. Reaching for the handle he opened their door and stopped where he was, in utter terror. There before him stood his own adviser, Boris, and his parents adviser, Voltaire. Between the two sat his family, being held at the point of a sword. His mother cried out in desperation as she saw her son standing at the door._

"_Run, my son! Get out, you musn't let them catch you!"_

_Voltaire turned and looked to him; his evil face showing no compassion._

"_Be a good boy and come with us. You wouldn't want your parents hurt now, would you?" Boris slid over next to Voltaire and pulled a dagger from up his sleeve. Handing it to Voltaire he smiled a smile which dripped with venom. Voltaire looked to the youngling and put his arms out in gesture of peace. "We don't want to hurt you, my young avarian, but if you don't do what we say, well..." Voltaire slid the knife till it stood an inch above his fathers neck. "Do as we say, and your parents will live."_

_The avarian wiped away a small tear before it made its destination down his face. Looking into his parent's eye's he saw the strength of hundreds of people. The will to live was there, but there was a hint of sadness. They wanted him to live, and they would risk their lives just for his. Could he do it for them? Should he?_

_Looking behind him, he saw the men, from his room, enter at the door. Before they could get him, he sprinted to the other corner of the room. Stepping forward he motioned for Voltaire's knife, "I want you to promise. Promise you won't hurt them. And promise me with a blood oath. I'll go with you if you keep them alive."_

_Boris scowled and moved towards Voltaire. They knew full well that they would never be able to get past the city gates with a screaming five-year-old avarian, but promising that they would keep their prisoners alive meant that there would still be a chance for them to reclaim what was theirs. The throne. Voltaire turned towards the royal family tied at his feet._

"_Alright." Pulling the knife towards his hand he slid it across. The blood oath had been made. Avarians hated to lie, but the thing that they hated the most was not keeping a promise. A blood oath was a matter of life or death to keep that promise alive. "I promise that they will remain unharmed and alive. Now take him away."_

_One of the men at the door stalked over to the young Prince and hurled him over his shoulder. From behind the door, another young avarian appeared. The sound of the King and Queens sobbing had brought help._

"_Let them go, and put him down, before I get the royal guards."_

_Boris came up behind the young boy, and slid a brown sack over his head. "Now, my young Brian, I don't think that that would help the situation." He heard a muffled scream as the bag tightened. _

"_Should we get rid of him or bring him along?"_

_Voltaire raised an eyebrow and opened the door. "Do you really want more of these brats around? I would rather think that thieves were better equipped for what we have planned."_

_Pulling the curtains aside, he revealed the nine year old thief standing their in utter shock. The Prince raised his head and yelled, "Run, Tala. Don't worry about me, just help Brian and get away."_

_Tala debated as to whom to help. He was sworn to protect the Prince, but he also swore to obey him. Making his choice clear, he ran towards Boris and bit him hard on the arm. With a loud scream, Boris let go of the bag and Brian tumbled out._

"_Now help me get the Prince!"_

_Together, both ran at the man. One squeezed his legs together while the other knocked him off balance. Watching in amusement, Voltaire stalked over to the boys and pulled out a cloth from his pocket. Before Brian could hit out at him, Voltaire had placed the cloth over his face and Brian fell. Tala swerved around and came to a halt. There in front of him stood Boris, his arm dripping with a thin line of blood._

"_You will pay for what you did, you little brat." He spat it with such venom, that Tala almost shook. But before he was able to do anything, a hand was placed around his mouth. His nose was suddenly filled with a sweet kind of smell and he felt his body grow tired, weak. And then it all went black._

_The Prince looked around at all the chaos in the room. He was left on his own, his parent's were asleep with the knockout stuff, and his friends were aswell. He was the only one awake, and he couldn't do anything because he promised he would come with them. Watching, silently from the man's back, he looked to his sleeping family. He silently whispered his goodbyes._

"_I'll come back for you one day. You'll still be alive, I know that. Bye bye."_

_And with that, all four men left, with three young children asleep in their arms. Keeping all three asleep meant that they would never find where the portal was – they would stay in the other world. They were going to be brought up by the very men who kidnapped them. Voltaire looked down in his arms, to the sleeping Prince. Smiling evilly he stepped through the portal._

"_It's time for your new life, my Prince. And you are going to make the perfect grandson... Kai… Hiwatari…"_

Waking with a jolt, Kai looked around the room. His team were still asleep on their beds and the sky was a light pink haze. Morning had come. Wiping the sweat from his forehead Kai stood and walked out of the room for some fresh air. He hated stormy nights; they always gave him that same dream. He remembered the night like it was yesterday because it was the day before his sixth birthday; a year since he had first met Tala. This dream gave him the memories to keep on holding on. But it also gave him something else.

Hope.

He knew that his parent's were still alive, no matter what Boris and Voltaire told the people, and he was going to be the one to save them. All he needed was an army to command and the determination to follow. He was going to win back the throne for his family, and for his people.

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I LOVE REVIEWS... Just thought that you'd like to know that. (cough)  
...hint hint... 


	8. Almost There?

This is awesome. Each time I go to upload some more chappies, I find some reviews. How cool is that? So here's some replies...

**Phoenix from the Flames-2:** lol. Well, wait no longer, you get to find out. Well... remember... cause you forgot... Anyways! Enjoy!

**humancat:** Oooo... I can't wait to see if I've put it in the story yet or not. lol. I think it's in quite a few chapters to come. These teenagers are only like, what, 14? 15? They're still too young and naive to realise what's right in front of them... But we'll see who figures it out first.

**Prisca-Angel:** Actually that hasn't even occured to me yet; what the OC's names are gonna be, cause I think that we'reI'm up to in writing it, they're still not in it. But none-the-less. Sure! Just give me a name and I'll try and add you in some where. I'm still trying to read it all myself to see where I'm up to, so I forget what the genders are, but we'll see, k? But, yeah, sure you can have your name of choice as an OC.

Like alwasy, I hope you guys.. and girls, enjoy this chapter and the ones to come...

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**Chapter Eight: Almost There…?**

The dawn of the day was shown as the bright colours filled the sky. The morning sun shone brightly as Kai entered the breeze, which it so often carried. Looking around Kai viewed the damage, which was at hand. Nothing seemed to be a problem except for the occasionally downed tree. One house had taken a beating, as Kai noticed the roof lying a meter away from the house. Apart from this, everything seemed to be fine. Turning around Kai entered the inn, thankful that the shelter held under the breeze, which had begun to grow stronger.

Walking inside he found the inn barely filled. Two Avarians sat at the bar silently whispering to eachother. As Kai began to walk over to them, he noticed that a third member was there; the bartender. Seeing Kai, the bartender hurried away to wash the bench further up from them. The two Avarians turned around and faced Kai.

"Well, well, well. I didn't see you get up?"

Kai sat down and faced them. "Come on, Tala. You didn't expect me to be up by now? The sun's just risen. Besides, I've been up for a while."

Brian leant forward and smirked, "Should have guessed. D'you have a good sleep then?"

"Perfect." Kai's face showed no emotion, but his voice was full of sarcasm. He turned to look them in the eye, but noticed the bartender eyeing him. Instead he looked him straight in the eye, causing the bartender to scurry off quickly. Kai faced his friends and raised an eyebrow, "Did I do something wrong? What's his problem?"

"You." He frowned at the reply and looked to Tala, Tala sighed and faced him, "I should have known this was going to happen. We forgot about your eyes. He thinks you're the Prince, and you've got him terrified."

Brian nodded in agreement. "We can't let them know that you really are."

"And? What do you suppose we do about it?" He questioned them both and let his head fall on the bar. "Great. So everywhere I go people are going to think I'm the Prince and bow down at my feet." Lifting his head up he let his lips fold into a slight smile, "You know, that doesn't sound half bad."

Hearing a laugh behind them, they simultaneously turned around to find Mariah standing there, hands on hips. "Right. People actually believing you're the Prince? Don't make me laugh."

Tala got up and moved right into her. "How much did you hear, wench?"

Taking a step back she looked at Tala, her face full of stubbornness, "Oh, nothing much. Just about how everyone's gonna bow to Kai." She let a small laugh escape her mouth before continuing. "That's to funny to even say with a straight face."

Brian rolled his eyes at her immaturity and stood next to Tala, "Well it's true. Think about it. Prince is missing for over eight years and then _he_ shows up with red eyes. It's gonna spook a lot of people."

They saw her consider it a moment before walking back up the stairs. A moment later, she came back down holding a tired looking Enrique.

"This should solve your problem."

Enrique rubbed his eyes and blinked at them, "What should solve whose problem? And why are we up so early? I could be getting more sleep right now."

Tala stepped forward and snapped his fingers in front of Enrique, calling for his attention. "We're talking about Kai's eyes being red. We need you to do your thing and change them. We ain't got no contacts here, remember?"

Enrique nodded and stood up straight. 'Well, I think you should consult Robert on that, it is his expertise."

Mariah slapped him lightly over the head and glared, "You're the Prince, for goodness sakes. You've got more magic then most faeries, so _you_ do it."

"Alright, alright. It was worth a try." He muttered.And with onelift his fingershe opened up his mouth. All moved in closer to hear the magic words. "...Done."

"Done already? You didn't even say anything." Enrique was about to answer Tala's question when he was pushed aside. Tala pulled Kai's face in front of him to study it. His face turned up in disgust. "They're green." He paused for a moment before looking to Enrique. "I don't like green."

Enrique ignored the comment and folded his arms in satisfaction while he leant on the side of the bar. "Well I couldn't change them to blue, I mean, think about it. Blue hair and blue eyes? It doesn't match. Besides, I thought green might…"

"Yeah, yeah. What are you, Prince _and_ fashion expert?" Mariah stood up and ran up the stairs. "I'll get everyone up so we can have breakfast. Then we can finally get going. Oh, this is going to be so amazing…" Her voice slowly trailed off as she entered one of the rooms.

Enrique chuckled to himself, "Looks like _she's_ ready for an adventure. I don't think she's ever been able to properly search this world. Do you think she's ever been past this Neko-jin village?"

Brian shrugged while Tala turned around and leant his elbow on the bar. "Who cares."

"Well then. Let's go on our little adventure."

Almost one hour later, the group was finally ready to set off. Having eaten breakfast and packed their bags they were all eager to go off in search of new wonders. The stables, which were just outside the village, had been quite obligingin letting them use seven of their horses, having been promised that the animals would be returned healthy and alive. The group had followed the path leading them to the Faerie Kingdom but after several longhours ofriding and walking they had stopped for a rest.

"I don't like this place." All turned to Tala who eyed the surrounding forest. It was quite eerie and dark, with the trees on either side bent over the road in a malicious way. It felt ascreepy as it looked.

Ahead of everyone Enrique was silently conferring with Robert, and after several moments of quiet whispering, their voices began to grow louder, "No. I don't care, Robert… We... No! We can't tell them! I mean…"Enrique sighed, eyed the group and nodded his head, "Okay.. Okay, okay!"

Having enough courage to finally face the group, Enrique turned around with a look of guilt on his face. "I've got some good news, and some bad news."

Max piped up, "Oh, oh. Good News first. Good news first."

"Alright." Enrique took a big long breath before he continued, "Well… We _seem_ to be almost there." He laughed unsurely before taking another breath. "But the bad news is… we have no way to tell."

And from above, the trees seemed to shake as an ear piercing scream was heard, which sent all the birds in a one mile radius to fly off in terror.

"WE'RE LOST!"

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Oooooo... That can't be good for them. So. If you like the story so far... review! If you LOVE the story so far... still review, just make it extra good. lol.


	9. What Was Once Hidden Still Is

As promised... three at a time. Hope you guys enjoy it... oh. And girls!

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**Chapter Nine: What Was Once Hidden… Still Is**

The tension was building between the 'great leader' and their followers. Robert was also glaring at Enrique, silently wishing that he hadn't said anything to them after all.

After several moments of silence, Robert transformed himself into a Faerie and gathered everyone's attention. His outfit, not so astonishing compared to Enrique's, held the crest for Ellerian. It was an amazing site to see; still as elegant as Enriques, but it held nobility worth, compared to what Enrique wore.

"I knew it was wrong to all stay on foot. We Faeries are the best navigators and…"

Michael pointed a finger at Robert, as he interrupted him. "Great navigators, huh? Then why are we lost?"

Robert gave Michael a sceptical glance before he allowed himself to finish, "And… we work the best in the air. I'm offering to go up and check our position. Maybe I can find where we are supposed to go."

Most of the group nodded in agreement and watched as Robert took to the air in one graceful movement.

A long and loud sigh was heard from Tyson. "Wow. I wish I could fly."

Max looked to Tyson and laughed at his remark, "What happened to finding Faeries funny?"

"But he can fly. That's cool."

No one dignified that with an answer. Only Max... with a nodd.

Quite a few of the group sat down where they were to wait for Robert's return. They all began to chatter, either about the world and the sight's that they had seen, or what trouble they were in and who's fault it was.

Tala began to get annoyed with the conversation and decided to go and do a little exploring for himself. He had always preferred his own company rather than a big group, so slowly and carefully he crept away, making sure no one saw him leave.

He wandered to where he had seen a huge rock, earlier that day and sat down in one of the small crevices. Leaning back he ran one of his hands down, and noticed how rough the rock felt. It was cold, and as he ran his other hand down the side, he could have sworn that it almost felt like scales. At this thought he quickly sat up, in order to check that this rock actually was what he thought it was. After studying it for a while he noticed that it was shiny… _Well, it's not moving. It's the right colour, and it's cold. But… why is it so cold if the sunhas been shining down on it for the past five hours or so?…_

Jumping off the rock he scanned it once more. He frowned a little as a small area of the rock began to glow. It shone a bright pink and suddenly disappeared, almost as if it flew behind the rock. Climbing back onto the rock Tala peered over the edge and found the light, but it wasn't shining as brightly as it did before. Instead, it revealed a small, delicate fairy, hopping from one foot to the other.

"You've got to be kidding me" Tala frowned and went to poke thelittle figure with his thumb,"It's a bloody fairy."

At hearing those words, the little fairy slowly turned around to face Tala, and as soon as both eyes met, it darted away behind another crevice, leaving a trail of glittering pink light.

…_I did _not_ just see that…_

The tiny head peered around the rock again, and Tala noticed that it was giggling. It suddenly put both hands on its hips and leant forward. Instinctively Tala leant over, and as soon as he did, the fairy flew over and blew a raspberry at him. Stepping back in shock, Tala looked away just in time to see a section of the rock begin to slowly move from where it was supposed to be. Deciding that he didn't want to stick around to find out why it was moving, he jumped off the rock and ran as fast as he could. Sprinting away, Tala didn't stop until he burst out of the forestry and toppled over Brian. Still filled with adrenalin he got up and moved away from the edge of the trees.

Curiosity overcame them all and they all looked over to where Tala held his eyes. Kai let out a little chuckle and walked over to where his friend stood in shock.

"What? Did something scare you? You? Big, strong Tala..." Kai looked to Brian and chuckled once more. "Alright, I give up. What did you find?"

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I _was_ going to tell you."

Brian's eyebrows creased at Tala's answer and he stood on the free side. "No. You've got my attention, now tell."

Both friends leant in to here what Tala had to say. Tala, on the other hand, peered over his shoulder and took a few steps back to where no one else could here. He sighed and motioned for Kai and Brian to huddle in.

"Alright. But you gotta promise not to laugh. Okay?" Both boys nodded their heads and glanced to one another. Tala took a mouthful of air and looked at them with a straight face. "I saw a fairy."

Both teens looked at eachother before bursting out laughing. Wondering what could actually make the most silent group members laugh, the rest of the group walked over.

Brian wiped away a little tear that almost threatened to fall and tried to halt his laughter. "That's what scared you? Tala, you're an avarian. Faeries are no trouble for you."

Kai nodded and raised an eyebrow, "And besides, aren't all Faeries good natured at heart?"

Tala shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "That's not what I'm talking about. I mean a little fairy. The ones that nobody thought existed, and are about an inch tall andglitter when they fly."

All was silent until someone burst out laughing. One by one everyone else followed until they all were either giggling or on the ground in pain. Enrique walked over and slapped Tala on the back.

"That was a good one. Thanks for cheering everyone up for me, I mean, it sure beats them moping around because we're lost."

"Why is everyone laughing?" They all turned around to the back of the group to find Robert standing there looking at them all as if they were insane. "I don't see what can be so funny about our current situation, especially since I can't find our proper route. Nothing for miles looks familiar."

The whole group suddenly felt a wave of doubt upon themselves. The situation was hopeless and they had no way of finding where they were meant to be.

"Maybe there will be a village up ahead. They could tell us the way."

All voiced their agreement and decided to continue their journey, not knowing where it would lead. They began to pick up their belongings and were about to head off, when Brian stopped in mid step.

"Can you hear that?"

Everyone else stopped to listen, and began to notice a whistling sound, audible but not very loud. Looking around they tried to find the source when Tala noticed a circular shadow around him, beginning to grow. Looking up he had only enough time to jump out of the way when a huge boulder fell on the spot where, just a minute ago, he had been standing.

"Where did that come from?" Tyson was looking up into the sky looking for where it might have dropped from when he heard Tala jump in fright.

"There it was again. The fairy." They all looked to where he pointed but no one saw a thing.

"Are you saying the fairy did this?"

Soon they had all erupted into laughter once more, and after hearing a 'What fairy?' from Robert the laughter increased.

Tala put his head down and decided that it was better not to say anything about the fairy anymore and continued their journey at the back of the group. Looking to the side he thought he saw a pair of red eyes glaring at him, through the trees, but after blinking a few times and looking again, he saw nothing.

…_Maybe I am just seeing things. Man, what did I eat?…_

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Yeah... What DID he eat... little tiny fairies and rocks that move... what will be next? Well! Find out next time in... 'Round About'. lol. Please Review... 


	10. Round About

Chapter Ten up... I think there's about two more chapters to put up.I haven't finishedChapter Thirteen yet. But now that I've finished school, I guess I can write more often... maybe. No! I'll try, I really will.

Enjoy...

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**Chapter Ten: Round About**

After three hours of solid trekking Robert turned to face the group to stop for the night. It had begun to grow dark quickly in the forest, giving off an eerie feel, of which Tyson didn't agree to. After several more moments it had suddenly turned really cold, the soft wind leaving an icy feeling behind.

"I think we should stop here for the night. This looks like a safe place." Everyone sent sceptical glares towards Robert as they surveyed their surroundings. Robert sighed and looked to Enrique, "Well it's as safe as we're going to get. Look around, there's not an inn within miles…"

"There's not _anything_ here for miles. And we're left with the deep and dark, creepy woods?" Tyson huddled closer to Max **(AN. This is meant in a friendship/cowardice way only. lol.)** and both shook with fear. "I vote sleeping in the middle of the group."

Tala raised an eyebrow and crept up behind Tyson and Max. Slowly lifting his mouth towards Tyson's ear, he took a huge breath and, "BOO!"

With a huge jump, both young boys ran for the cover of their strong Team Captain, only to find a huge smirk on his mouth. "What's the matter, scared?" He let go of his breath in irritation, "Plus. Why do you want to sleep in the middle of the group anyway?"

"Because the people on the edge usually wind up getting into trouble first."

"Good." They all looked to Brian who still couldn't contain his almost menacing laughter, "Then you two can go on watch first."

Tyson and Max gulped as the thought of being the only ones awake in a place like this sunk in.

Tala stepped up and shook his head, "Don't worry about it, I'll keep first watch. Besides, five gold coins says that they would fall asleep a quarter of the way through their watch anyway."

Everyone agreed with Tala's choice and made camp for the night. A small fire was set in the middle, with everyone's bedrolls around the outside. And after a quick meal, the whole group had soon fallen asleep. No matter how scared they had been, all their fears were soon lost as the weight of their journey caught up with them.

Tala kept watch over the group until the fire had all but hot embers left, sending shadows dancing amongst the dark. A glow of red from the side of the camp, sent Tala alert. Slowly he stood up, with sword in hand at the ready, waiting for the slightest movement. It came, but the movement was of the light, slowly moving closer to the spot where he kept watch. Suddenly a second light appeared, but it shone a pink hue. Tala recognised the colour from that morning.

Silently he swore and stood in a fighting pose, ready for whatever came at him. But nothing moved. Both coloured lights had disappeared, and Tala was left in silence.

"Bloody fairy." He kept on his guard, circling around as he watched every corner of the forest…_ Please don't tell me it's brought a friend…_

Trying to think about what he had done to upset his little foe kept ending him up at dead-ends. He had done nothing, but stumble across him… or her. So what was its problem?

A gush of wind sent a chill down Tala's back as a rumble was heard near-by. While trying to pinpoint where it was coming from, he made his way quite a few metres away from the edge of camp. The rumble started to grow in intensity until he heard a noise, which terrified him. It came as a familiar sound, having lived in an ice covered country, and just to see if his instincts were right he looked up, towards the sound. In doing this his icy chill turned to dread. Wasting no more time, Tala turned towards the camp and ran. He was a few feet away as the rockslide hit. He had managed to move out of the way in time and was now standing at the edge of the slide watching as the rocks and dirt, tumbled down, just a few feet away from him. Looking up he noticed that there was a tall hill, now missing almost half of it's top and just in his view, shone a tiny pink dot.

"How could a stupid little fairy do something like this?"

As if the fairy had heard him, it flew down the hill and stopped right in front of his nose. Taking a step back Tala viewed his foe with more detail. It was definitely a girl, wearing a small pink dress which was shaped like a rose, and had delicate pink wings, shimmering behind her. Her dark pink hair stood out, making her seem almost harmless. Almost. That was until she came right up close to him, that Tala swatted her away with his right hand. Almost immediately afterwards, he had regretted it. She came so close up to him that his vision was blurred with her light but a few seconds after, the light suddenly swooped down, and Tala yelped as a pain hit his right hand. Bringing his hand into view, he noticed small teeth marks just under his thumb, on the palm of his right hand. Turning around to look at the pink fairy he found only darkness left around him.

The danger was over, and the fairy gone. How he regretted doing first watch that night.

After several moments of silently debating whether or not to wake someone else up for watch, left him with one question …_ Did I just imagine that rockslide?…_ He turned around and viewed his travelling companions …_Why didn't they wake up from all that noise? They're not deaf…_

Walking over to Steve, he bent over and softly shook him. Getting no response, Tala turned to drastic measures and began violently shaking him whilst shouting in his ear to wake up. Sitting back in disbelief Tala tried the same on both Gary and Rei, getting the same results. He peered over Kevin's shoulder and thought he noticed some glitter on his face.

The light from the fire had all but gone out, so it left Tala wondering why Kevin's face glittered. Looking around him, he noticed that all of them had the same glittery effect. He swore once more.

"That _bloody_ fairy." He looked upwards and yelled. "Why do you keep doing this to me."

Punching the air, he began to let all his frustration out on the space in front of him.

The sun had risen to reveal a fresh morning filled with the bright hope of finding their direction. Almost all at once, the group began to wake…all except Tyson who remained blissfully unaware of the morning sun. It took Kai, Rei _and _Max to wake him. He groaned as he sat up then looked to everyone else. "Is it just me, or does everyone's feet really hurt?" A few people chuckled or nodded in agreement as they too stretched, yawned and woke themselves up. Tyson groaned again. "Using a log as a pillow isn't the best idea."

Enrique just laughed and looked to everyone else. "So, how did everyone sleep?"

"Like a log. He he he."

"Tyson, what do you find so funny?"

Tyson looked to Enrique with a grin. "Didn't you get the joke? You asked how we slept and I said 'like a log.'"

"Yeah. So?"

"I slept like a log…and I slept _on_ a log…see? Log." He pointed to where his bedroll was laid out, a log for the pillow. But seeing everyone's blank faces he gave up on the joke. "Nevermind."

Brian glanced around for his team captain and noticed him sitting against a tree fast asleep. He raised an eyebrow then motioned for Kai to look over to him. Kai saw his friend and contained his hidden laugh, but looked to Brian confused as a thought crossed his mind. He looked to everyone else in question. "Who took watch last night?"

Kai only received blank stares and no answer. He looked to the sleeping Tala and started walking over. Softly shaking him he startled Tala out of his sleep.

"What! Where is it?" Jumping up, Tala pulled out his sword and looked around, "Huh?"

He heard a few muffled laughs and turned towards his two friends. Kai stood there, arms on hips, with one raised eyebrow, while Brian had a hand over his mouth, trying to keep his laughter hidden. Brian put both hands on his waist and started to walk away, whilst shaking his head. Kai pulled Tala's attention away from the back of Brian's head as he lightly hit him on the shoulder.

"What are you talking about? And what happened last night." He motioned for the large pile of rocks and dirt, which lay almost seven metres away from their campsite. "None of us woke up and I find that hard to believe seeing as though it was only a couple of metres away. And more or less, _when_ did it happen?"

Tala didn't want anymore criticism about the fairy and kept his mouth shut, until he noticed all eyes directed at him.

Tala sighed and began his explanation, "I know you won't believe me, but I'll tell you anyway. You know that fairy I told you about?" He saw a few nods, and heard a few giggles, "Well, it must have followed us. It even bit me on the hand."

He held his hand in view for all to see. But still no one took it serious.

"Tala, you're probably overreacting. Some little animal probably bit you. You _did_ fall asleep on watch. Besides, how could it be a fairy? Like we said. Fairies. Don't. Exist."

He glanced over at Johnny and scowled but he still continued on. "Yeah? Well how do you explain that?" He pointed to the pile of rocks and put his hands on his hips.

Kai raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Are you saying an itty bitty fairy caused a huge rockslide from that there hill? You have got to be joking." He took a step forward and put a hand on Tala's forehead, "Are you feeling alright? You're not sick are you?"

Tala pushed his hand away and glared, "No!" He ran his right hand over his hair and turned his back to them. "Look let's just go. Forget I said anything."

Picking up his belongings he shouldered them and began to head for the road. Enrique looked over and was about to follow when he turned around and stopped. Scratching his chin he turned around once more and sighed.

"Great." He muttered,"Hey Tala! you're going the wrong way." Tala stopped and peered over. Enrique shook his head and pointed to the pile of rocks. "That's where we're meant to go, but it's blocked up."

Rei came over and inspected the pile. "It's too dangerous to climb. There's too many loose rocks. Maybe we can go around?"

They looked through to the forest on either side of them and shuddered. Tyson gulped and stood next to Rei, "Are you sure we have to go through there? I mean, look how creepy and dark it is. Why not head back now… While we're still alive."

Rei shook his head and began to look for a game trail; anything that might lead them through the thickest part of the forest. Looking closer he spotted a small dirt trail a few metres away from the edge of the forest.

"Let's follow that. It might lead us around, or even better, to a river."

Eddy shuddered and peered over Rei's shoulder, "What's so good about finding a river? Especially if we have to walk through there."

Mariah put her hands on her hips and stood on Eddy's right, "Because. If we find a river we can follow it. It has to lead somewhere and besides, it could take us to a village who might use that river for their water supply."

Eddy sighed and picked up his gear, "Alright then. If it'll lead us to a nice warm fireplace, let's go."

After packing up camp and putting out the fire, they all began the long hike through the forest. It was only wide enough to go along in two's so they had developed a buddy system, to ensure that no one got lost and no one was left behind. Several hours had passed since they had last stopped and soon quite a few people were complaining of hunger and sore feet.

Finding a clearing they let their bags down and relaxed. They still hadn't found a river, and Rei was beginning to wonder if they were going around in circles. Looking up at Robert he saw leant over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Robert. Do you want to fly up and see if you can find anything? Even if it's the road we were on yesterday. I just need some clue as to where we are headed."

Robert nodded and quickly flew into the trees above. A minute later he landed, looking very puzzled. Rei looked over for an answer and in return Robert moved over to his left and pulled some of the shrubbery away. There, right behind the bushes, they could see a road. But what had puzzled Robert was to the left of the road. There, where they had left it that morning, was the big pile of rocks from the rockslide and their campfire.

The whole group looked over in disbelief and quite a few swore. All turned to Rei and saw an equal look of surprise.

"How could that be. I swore we were following the path the whole time, so how could it go in a circle? That doesn't make sense."

Tala growled and thrashed at a tree. "The question is more or less, _who_ would create a path that leads around in a circle. That's stupid."

In answer to him a small high-pitched giggle was heard. All turned around to find who had laughed at them, but no one was there. Keeping quiet they listened for the destination of the laugh, but then another laugh was heard elsewhere and another, until the sound of laughter had surrounded the whole group. They all looked around in a confused daze as whispers began to be heard.

"…_They're strange looking things…"_

"…_Look at that one…"_

_"... So Big!..."_

Suddenly an audible voice was heard, but they still couldn't find where it had come from.

"I have a question for you all." A small pause was heard and then the voice continued. "What's the best way to keep milk from going sour?"

Looking around confused Lee spoke up, "What? What kind of question is that?" He looked to Mariah and shook his head, "But I have a question for you, though. What are you and _where _are you?"

Mariah looked around and nodded, "And how do we get to where we want to go?"

The forest filled with silence, until a rustling was heard to the back of the group. "You guys are no fun. You haven't even answered our question."

Ian rolled his eyes and spoke. "I don't know. _How_ do you keep milk from going sour?"

A chorus of voices was heard as the answer was thrown at them. _"Leave it in the cow!"_ After the last word was spoken laughter once again filled their ears. It was almost too much to bear and a few smiles had broken out onto the faces of the travellers.

Kai raised an eyebrow to Brian as he mouthed the answer to him in question. Brian shrugged and shook his head.

"Okay. Loved the joke, but we need to be going now." Eddy turned to leave but heard rustling to his side, and jumped away in fright.

Rustling came from all around them and a small head popped out of a bush. "You can't leave yet. It's been such a long time since we've had human visitorshere."

They inspected the little creature that stood around one metre tall. He wore a green tunic with matching green bottoms, for camouflage. He wore a little green hat with a feather sticking out of it, and they noticed a slight point on the end of his ears.

Max bent over him and poked his nose. "Are you an elf?"

Kevin laughed and stood next to him, "Ha! He looks like Robin Hood to me."

Spencer smirked and motioned for his height, "He also looks taller than you, to me."

A few giggles were heard and more of these little creatures began to crawl out of their hiding places. All stood at around the same height and wore the same type of clothing, fitted out to be either male or female wear.

One young malewalked over and looked up to Spencer, not even reaching halfof Spencers height,"I like you, you're good at telling jokes, and I like jokes."

Oliver slowly walked over and touched one of the young girls on the head, "I thought you said it was only Faeries, Avarians and Neko-jins who inhabited this world. You never said anything about there being gnomes. Or are they goblins?"

"We're too cute to be gnomes."

Another one stood next to the young girl and smiled, "And we're too nice to be goblins."

Once again they all joined in as a chorus, "We're Elves."

Tyson's eyes opened as he looked at each one, "Santa's little helpers?"

What seemed to be the leader stepped forward, "No. I am an Elve, not an Elf... _They_ are our cousins."

The laughter erupted around them once more as each Elve took a hand of one of their visitors. They lead them through the thicket of the forest and suddenly came out into a little village, with a river by it's edge and flowers in bloom all around.

Emily looked around and sighed, "It's beautiful."

"Come. You are our guests here. If you have any problems don't hesitate to call me."

"Okay." Steve looked around and then back to the leader, "So we call you? What's your name?"

"What."

"What?"

"Yes?"

"No I mean, what?"

"Yes, what?"

"What's what?"

"I'm what."

Michael covered Steve's mouth and put a finger to the leader. "You're names what?"

"Yes."

Michael nodded and let go of Steve. "Steve, his name's Yes."

Quite a few Elves hit their little heads and erupted into giggles. Kai looked over and was ready to hit Michael's.

"His name is What, Michael, not Yes."

"Okay. I think I get it now." He rubbed his head as he turned away, "I don't think I'm gonna like it here."

Steve looked over and smirked."What?"

Two replies were heard; one fromWhat and one from Michael.

"Yes?"

"I said that… Oh. Ha ha Steve. Very funny."

And once more the air around them filled with the giggles of both the inhabitants and their guests.

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He he he... funny lil elves aren't they? A hidden village no one found, which the group found by accident... hmmmm... what else do you think the group might come across, I'd like to hear your responses... hint, hint, (cough) review (cough)...


	11. The Meaning Of Life

Chapter Eleven up for you all to read.

Enjoy...

NOTE: I forgot to put in the earlier chapter that the Elve named **W**hat will have the '**W**' in bold and caps lockto try and ease some confusion. Sorry for the late note, my bad.

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**Chapter Eleven: The Meaning Of Life**

Viewing their surroundings in disbelief the group began to explore the newly found village. All around them flowers bloomed in a forever-lasting spring. Their moods seemed to be just as happy and bright, for not one Elve was sad.

"Maybe this is what Heaven's like." As Tyson imagined rays of sun being visible all around them, the crowd of people made their way to the very heart of the village.

**W**hat stood tall on a small platform, but barely reached the height of the humans. Looking around, he raised his arms and smiled.

"My people. If…" He paused as he looked into each persons eyes. "…it took eight men, _till dawn,_ to build a wall, "He sounded out with authority and passion, "_How long_. Would it _take_. _Four_ men?

The crowd of Elves pressed in closer as they held on to every word he said. **W**hat once again swept his view around the gathered crowd before he spoke. "No time at all." His smile grew as the last few of his sentences were filled with laughter. "The wall is already built."

The Elves burst out in hysterics, some even rolling on the ground. **W**hat wiped away a tear before he stood straight once more, "Now, down to business. These guests need rooms to stay in. I need volunteers to look after them and let them into their homes."

A rupture of hands sprung up out of the crowd, as the Elves were all too eager to help. **W**hat began to assign an Elve with a person until only Kai stood alone. **W**hat had wanted one of his own to look after and had seen how Kai hadn't even smiled at his joke…_We'll soon see about that. I'll have him rolling on the floor when I'm done with him…_

He motioned to Kai that he was to come with him and then held out his arms in happiness. "I also declare, that a feast will be held, in honour of our new guests."

The humans all looked to one another with huge smiles. They were being very welcomed... _too welcomed for my liking…_ But before Kai was able to properly think this through, **W**hat had grabbed his hand and led him to the closest house bringing him inside.

The rest of the day was spent seeing the sights and getting to know their host families. All seemed to be okay, until preparation for the feast had begun. The teens had been 'let out of the house' and all had met together to talk of what they had seen and heard.

"Well, my host family went and, get this. Patted. My. Head." Michael spoke in confusion. "They said that I was a good boy and that later, if I was good, they might let me sleep in one of their kids rooms instead of their loungeroom."

Rei raised his arm to get everyone's attention. "That's nothing. Do you want to know what _my_ host family did? They went and pushed me off the couch. They told me that that wasn't very good and that I was too big to sit on the couch. Then they went and apologised and gave me some food. It was really quite weird."

Quite a few had stories to tell about how they were treated, wether it was _too_ nice or as if they were naive and clueless, but none could say that they weren't hospitable. Unless of course, if you asked Kai.

Kai leant over to Brian and Tala and began talking with them. Their voices had begun to rise just enough that the group began to concentrate on their conversation.

"It was terrible. I don't think that I could stand it here much longer. You have no idea of what I'm going through."

Emily tapped Kai's shoulder and he turned to see the group watching them. "What?"

"That's what_ we_ want to know. What's so terrible about this place?"

Kai glared at Emily and maintained his view. "The jokes. Those are the worst jokes I have _ever_ heard. And being with the leader of these fruitcakes isn't helping."

Mariah slapped Kai across the head and placed her hands on her hips, "Don't talk about them like that, they could be listening. Besides, don't you think that it's pretty inspirational? I mean, look at them, do they ever get mad? Do they ever fight? No! All they do is tell jokes and enjoy life. What's so wrong about jokes? They're harmless."

Kai shook his head and stood. He was going to go for a walk, to clear his mind about all this. Tala saw this and knew he couldn't let the Prince go off on his own so he decided to come. Little did they know who had been watching them from the bushes. As soon as Tala had risen, she had taken off in a hurry, to find her partner. They had a job to do.

Walking further and further into the bush, Kai finally stopped and sat against a huge rock. It felt strangely cold and almost scaly but Kai took no notice. When Tala caught up to his friend, he sat on the same rock and looked around.

"So what do you have against the Elves anyway?"

Kai groaned and looked over, "It's not that I don't like them, it's that I don't trust them. Think about it. Did we ever think that Elves ever existed?" Tala shook his head and Kai continued, "Did we ever believe that all they would do would be to make jokes? I just don't like that. What if they go too far with a joke? You saw what they did with the path. They made it go around in a circle, and then brushed over our footprints so we wouldn't realise. And then they went and put more bushes up, so that we couldn't see our original road. Do you really think that we can trust them?"

Tala looked away in thought and could have sworn he saw the pink light of the little vengeful fairy. But when he looked closer, all he saw was the surrounding forestry. Getting up he walked over to the other side of the rock and noticed that it was quite huge. It had one huge bump, and then led off to a small, almost cylindrical, rock. And it was completely smooth. The end of it was hidden in the bush. Suddenly, two red lights shone out and Tala could have sworn they were the red eyes he had seen before.

Turning around to Kai he saw that his friend had left the spot where he had been sitting and was no where to be seen. He had left Tala with this…_thing._

Suddenly the rock moved, almost as if it tensed. Then a loud chop was heard and before Tala knew it, a huge, and quite heavy, tree was falling directly above him. Putting up his avarian wings, he quickly flew out of the way in lightening speed, before the tree came to a halt on the forest floor, with a massive bang. Tala gulped as the fact that he could have been under it, came into view but seeing movement in the trees to his right, brought his attention away. He drew out his two hidden daggers for protection, but when he saw Kai come into view, quickly hid them in his sleeves, where he usaully kept them.

"What the… What happened?" Kai turned to Tala for an explanation, but recieved none.

Tala walked around to the end of the tree, to see just how it had happened. When he came to it, his face went pale as realisation hit him. He stared blankly at the tree for a second, before turning to Kai and speaking. "All I can say, is that the fairy has a friend. A very big friend from the look of the claw marks in the tree."

He motioned for the slashes made from sharp, and quite huge, claws. Turning around he also noticed that the huge rock was gone, but rocks can't just pick up and leave, can they? Tala couldn't really say no, I mean, if Elves and fairies were real, what else could be?

Kai came over and swore, "What the hell _did_ that? They're _huge_. Wait!. Did you say fairy? Tala, your not going on about that again. Come on, this joke is about as bad as the Elves."

Tala just nodded in reply and began to make the journey back. Kai followed off behind but stopped when something caught his view. It was **W**hat, but what caused him to stop, was the fact that **W**hat was creeping around the forestry, as if looking for something. He was also wearing a cloth over his mouth and nose.

"What the…"

Shaking his head Kai left him to his business and ran off to catch up to Tala.

Soon enough it had begun to get quite dark and the feast had begun. Lanterns decorated the room and filled the place with light. All kinds of foods were layed out in front of them and everyone began to eat their fill. The food which was left over, was taken to one side, and the gathering began to talk of the days events. Laughter and gossip filled the air as everyone enjoyed each others company.

The Majestics were gathered around **W**hat asking him as many questions as they could, by which the little Elve was happy to supply the answers to. Enrique shook his head and moved away from the conversation. He chuckled to himself and sat down next to the Neko-Jins. The whole group were gathered around one of the big tables, prefering to sit with eachother, rather than sit with their host families and suffer bad jokes.

Enrique chuckled once more and gathered their attention, "Okay. Get this. **W**hat over there, thinks that he's got the meaning of life in a treasure chest of his. He says that it was passed down from generation to generation and only when the leader wanted to, would he reveal it to his people, but he said that guests aren't included with this rule, and that he might be willing to show us."

Kevin smirked and looked to them, "Well I'm up for it. I'd _love_ to know what these, quote 'fruitcakes' think is the meaning of life." He looked around at them all and saw quite a few nods. "Alright then, lets ask if we can see it."

All stood, one by one, and made their way over to where **W**hat sat. Enrique tapped his shoulder and hid the smile which threatened to expose itself. "I told my friends about the meaning of life thing and they're really interested in it."

**W**hat stood up in excitement and laughed. "Lovely. Come with me, then. I'll show it to you all right now."

He ran out of the door and the group followed. Entering his house he dissapeared for a minute or two, before he came back out holding a wooden chest, with a huge lock. Pulling out a key from around his neck, he opened the chest to reveal one single piece of paper. Bringing it into his view he sighed in awe before clearing his voice.

"This is it. Shall I read it to you?" All smiled and nodded to him. He sighed once more in wonder and began.

"In and out, Up and down, Under and on, Sky and ground.  
Soft and loud, High and low, Near and far, Stay and go.  
Empty and full,War and peace, Boy and girl,Nephew and neice.  
Sun and rain, Flood and drought, Calm and rough, Whisper and shout.

More and less, Starve and eat, Rise and fall, Victory and defeat.  
Death and life, White and black, Heaven and hell, Front and back.  
Plus and minus, Subtract and add, Water and fire, Mum and dad.  
Love and hate, Big and small, Over and under, Short and tall.

Clean and dirty, Weak and strong, Lost and found, Right and wrong  
Open and shut, Fake and real, Smile and frown, Won't and will.  
Day and night, Wide and thin, Wet and dry, Yang and yin.  
Hit and miss, Foul and fair, Now and then, Here and there."

**(AN: How cool is this poem? I wrote it myself!)**

"Well... That was... good." Steve put a hand over his mouth and turned his back to the group. He cleared his throat and turned back around. "So... the meaning of life is about opposites... Well I'm impressed."

**W**hat nodded his head, his eyes wide. "How _wonderful_ is it. It's so... so... _true_."

The group nodded their heads and thanked him before turning away, heading to the edge of the village. Sitting down in a circle type shape they looked to eachother before erupting into fits of laughter.

"How funny was that?"

"I know, I was trying so hard not to laugh."

Max and Tyson looked to eachother before bursting into more laughter. Tears began to make their way down some people's faces.

Kai looked to Tala and mouthed, 'I told you so' before he stood up, shaking his head. Kai watched as the lights from the lantern dissapeared. He'd had quite enough for today and had decided to head straight to bed. Opening up the front door, he made his way inside the little house and opened up the door to his room. Lucky for him, **W**hat had a guests room, which was big enough for a human. Sitting on his bed, he noticed a strange, sweet smell filling his room. Looking around he noticed a small red flower in a pot, placed on his bedside table. The flower looked almost like a venus fly trap, yet it was red, shading into a light pink at the bottom. It's 'mouth' was open and revealed three yellow stamen **(AN: those stick things in the middle of the flower which hold pollen - for those of you who need help with this. Don't worry, I did. lol.) **almost acting like three tongues. Coming closer to get a better view Kai looked over, into the peculiar flower.

Suddenly, without warning, the flower closed it's mouth, and a fine dust spurted out. What looked like the pollen, began to cover the whole of Kai's face. Kai tried to fan away the sweet smell which followed but the pollen stuck to the inside of his mouth. All he could smell was the overbearing sweetness of the flower. And then darkness began to settle all around him. He thought he heard **W**hat's voice, proclaiming that this was the best joke he had ever done but couldn't quite place where the voice had come from. Trying to find his way around, he suddenly felt the soft feel of the blankets, as he fell on the bed.

Darkness slipped in around him as Kai fell into a peaceful sleep.

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Oh no... What did **W**hat do? Find out in the next chapter... And please review... 


	12. REALLY Bad Joke

Here's Chapter Twelve for you. There's one more chapter and then they will be coming as I write them. So be patient. lol.

**Phoenix from the Flames-2:** Lol. I loved writing that **W**hat bit. And like above, there was twelve, but I've finished the thirteenth, so both will be put up now.

Enjoy...**

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Chapter Twelve: REALLY Bad Joke**

Morning came and the group had met up after eating breakfast; all except Kai. Tala and Brian looked around, wondering where he could have gone. Tala was about to go look for him but a bright and cheerful Elve stood in his way.

Tala narrowed his eyes. "**W**hat. I was just about to look for you." He glared as the Elve giggled. "Where's Kai?"

The Elve composed himself and grabbed Tala's hand, which Tala immediately pushed away, and started leading the group towards his house. "Actually I know quite well where he is. He's enjoying one of our most hilarious jokes."

Tyson raised an eyebrow. "Kai? Enjoy a joke? This I gotta see."

They came to the house and Mariah sighed. "We're all not going to fit in there so just hurry up and grab Kai. We'll meet you where we were yesterday."

Tyson nodded and looked to Max. "Come on Max. You, me, Tala and Brian will get Kai." Before Max could answer he was shoved inside by an eager **W**hat with Tala, Brain and Tyson soon following.

Looking around the room they couldn't see Kai. "Where is he Elf?"

"Must I remind you. We are Elve's not Elf's." **W**hat huffed in amused annoyance, mumbling to himself. "Humans...they're fine to keep as pets, but they ask too many questions. None of them even funny anyhow." Tala quirked an eyebrow at Brian mouthing, 'Pets?'.

**W**hat had unlatched a door and led them inside. "Here he is."

The four stared at Kai amused. "You said he was enjoying one of your best jokes...must be some joke if he fell asleep."

**W**hat looked to Tala and smiled. "Exactly!"

Tyson and Max looked to each other and covered their laughs. Brian stood looking at the Elve like he was crazy, and Tala looked about ready to kill the Elve. Instead, he walked over to Kai and shook him. "Kai. Wake up."

Nothing Happened.

"Kai! WAKE UP!"

Still, nothing happened.

"KAI, WILL YOU QUIT WITH THIS AND JUST BLOODY WAKE UP BEFORE I KNOCK YOUR STUPID HEAD IN!"

There was a small laugh, which grew and grew, until **W**hat was rolling on the ground in fits of laughter. "WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" Brian quickly stepped infront of Tala, to stop him from trying to kill the little creature.

**W**hat got up, still laughing, and looked to the four teens. "Don't you get it? The joke _is_ that he fell asleep." He pointed to a flower lying discarded on the ground. "That flower sends anyone who smells it to sleep! It's our best prank we have!"

Brian glared daggers at **W**hat. "And how do you wake him up?"

**W**hat just laughed. "We can't. Don't you see the genius of it all? He falls asleep, and can't wake up. It's our best joke!"

Even Max and Tyson were starting to get annoyed at the chirpy fellow. "Kai can't stay asleep. Does it wear off or something?"

"Nup."

"Forever?"

"Yep."

"Never gonna..."

"Nup."

"Not even..."

"Nup."

Brian picked the Elve up off the ground and slammed him into the wall. "You had better tell me right now that this is one of your stupid little jokes. Cause if Kai doesn't wake up then I will _personally_ send you to sleep. Permanently!"

For once there was no smile on **W**hat's face. "I think you have a very bad attitude. We don't like people with bad attitudes. You may leave our village now."

Brian raised his fist to punch the Elve but felt someone grab it. He turned to Tyson and raised an annoyed eyebrow. Tyson gulped, but spoke to him sternly. "Let's just leave. If there's no cure here, then there might be one elsewhere." He leant in closer and whispered so only Brian and Max could hear. "Besides, these little guys are kinda freakin' me out."

Brian dropped **W**hat to the ground with a thunk and moved to pick Kai up. Then all five left the building, walking to where the group was waiting. They entered the group carrying the sleeping Kai.

Max walked over with a cheeky grin. "Guess what."

"What."

"We just got ourselves kicked out of the village!"

There was a small "Yes" from Michael as everyone looked at Max curiously. "Brian threatened **W**hat, so now we gotta go."

Tyson chirped in a lot happier. "Good thing we didn't unpack. Lets hurry up and grab our stuff so we can..." He was interrupted by Ian who had been staring at the unconscious Kai since they had arrived. "Why isn't Kai awake?"

Brian just turned around and walked off. Tala looked at Ian and glared. "We'll tell you when you have your things packed and we're away from all the little lawn gnomes hopping around like they think they're bloody..."

"Alright. Let's go grab our things."

Everyone hurried to pack their things and then made their way out of the village quickly. After one hour of searching they found the circular path, and from there, were able to find their way around the rockpile, and on their way to the Faerie Kingdom.

The trip there was silent as Tala began to explain what the Elve had told him, the group's mood having changed dramatically into sullen, sadness. Kai was their friend and he couldn't stay asleep forever. But what could they do? **W**hat said that there was no cure, so how were they to help Kai?

The sun had slowly began to set and with it, their hopes of finding a solution to their problem. Realisation had hit them, as they tried to think of as many possible ways to heal Kai from his endless sleep. But none came to mind. To most, it was hopeless. But to just a few, they kept that tiny inkling of hope tight in their hearts. They weren't going to let their Prince stay like this. Tala and Brian held their heads high as they looked to where their Prince lay.

The group had been able to take a wagon with them, the only thing that the Elves would let them take, but it was too small to hold all of them. The only thing that it held was the sleeping Kai, layed out on a bed of straw. Being drawn by one of their horses, the wagon slowly rocked back and forth along the hard, rough road.

It had been silent for the entire trip of the day. No one daring to break the thoughts that loomed in their minds. Looking up to the sky, Emily noticed that it had begun to get dark. Turning to view her group of friends, she realised why no one had noticed. They all held their heads low, looking at the ground. She let out a small laugh and stopped walking.

" Guys? It's getting dark." Quite a few looked towards the sky, and the group began to stop. "Maybe… I don't know." She paused for a while, and saw that all eyes were on her. "It's just that, well, Kai is asleep. That's all it is. It's not like he's going to die, right?"

Enrique nodded his head and sighed, "An endless sleep means just what it says. Endless. But it doesn't mean that they will die from not eating, and stuff. In an endless sleep you don't really need to eat. All you do is breath and sleep." He laughed sheepishly and looked to where Kai lay. "Atleast that's one good thing. He may never wake up, but he'll always be dreaming."

Tala growled and glared at the Faerie Prince. "Aren't Faeries supposed to know magic?" Enrique looked over and nodded. "Then why can't you heal him? Snap him out of it?"

Enrique looked down at the ground. "We've never encountered something like this before. And before you ask…yes, I've already tried. My magic won't work on him."

Tala swore in Russian before glaring back at the ground…_I was supposed to be watching him. The Prince was in _my_ charge. And what happens? He gets spelled by some stupid little lawn ornaments come alive_…_I'm gonna get into sooo much trouble for this_… He looked over to Kai and growled again, before turning back to the group. "We'll stop here then. There's no use going on. Set up camp."

Despite his bossiness no one bothered to argue with him. They mechanically started to set up the camp. Tying the horses to the trees, unpacking bags or trying to get a fire started.

The night was pleasantly warm, but that didn't help lift the sadness that had settled over the group.

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How was that? You're welcome to tell me everything you thought about it... good/bad/great... All you have to do is review! 


	13. It's The Little Things In Life

Okay. sorry to do this guys but I'm extending this chapter. I hope you guys like it though. I reckon its cool. Well, enjoy...

**Phoenix from the Flames:** You're good. You're very good. lol. Actually that WAS my original idea but then I came up with this. ie. (read the chapter below.lol.)

**And to the rest of the reviewers:** Thanks guys. Yeah there should be a bit more of Kai, considering he's the Prince and he should be waking up soon. You're gonna have to read to find out. lol. hint hint.

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**Chapter Thirteen: It's The Little Things In Life**

"Good news everyone. We've found some familiar land. We'll be on the right road from now on."

Everyone felt like cheering at Robert's words but no one did. The predicament they were in kept the silence reined in. And had, for two days. For those two long days they had journeyed down the rocky path, with everyone moving mechanically. It seemed that since they had heard about Kai's endless sleep, the group wanted to do nothing more than get to Elerrian in hope of the Enchantresses help.

Rei tried for a smile to brighten up the group, "That's great news Robert. How long till we reach the Faerie kingdom then?"

Robert glanced at Rei and sighed. "I'd give it another three days if we continue like this. Maybe less if we fasten our pace."

Michael groaned. "I can dig camping and all that, but this is just plain torture. You guys are acting like my health teacher. And he's pure evil."

"Awww...the big baseball star can't handle any more walking?"

"Shut-up shrimp."

Kevin looked at Michael and scowled. "Who you calling shrimp?"

"You, you shrimp."

"I aint a shrimp...red head."

"Oh that's original."

"WILL YOU BOTH JUST QUIT IT!" The two looked to the very annoyed looking Tala. "One. He's not the only shrimp." A 'hey' was heard from Ian. "And two. He's not the only red head. So will you both just shut up."

Michael looked to the stressed teen. "Dude. Will you just calm down. We're all bugged about this Kai falling asleep thing, but you're taking this _way_ to seriously."

Tala looked at Michael like he was stupid. "Well, 'dude', you don't think we should take this seriously? Then please, guide us in your oh so great wisdom and tell us what to do next and how to fix this."

"Alright... I said calm down. Not blow up in my face. And it wouldn't hurt to - "

"How about we rest here for a bit. I think everyone's becoming agitated."

Tyson slumped to the ground from where he was standing. "Good idea Rei. My feet were really starting to hurt."

Tala sighed and walked over to where the wagon was situated. Slowly he helped Brian lift Kai off the wagon and lay him down on a bedroll, which Tyson had set up. Having Kai asleep had certainly brought the group closer in terms of sharing jobs throughout the camp, but with moods down and tempers rising, the team needed more than the ability to share in order to get along.

Max lay on his bedroll, hands under his head, as he stared into the vast black sky above him. It had darkened quickly and all were about ready for bed. Max sighed and turned to where Tyson lay, thumb wrestling with Kevin.

"Do you think Kai will ever wake up, Tyson?"

Tyson stopped the thumb war and looked over with a smile, "Sure, Maxie. You know Kai, he'll live through anything."

Michael chuckled and sat up, "He reminds me of that fairytale, 'Sleeping Beauty'. 'Cept he's the guy in a deep sleep and his true love has to kiss him."

Tyson sat slack-jawed on his bedroll staring at Michael, "You really think that's the way to wake him up? Find his true love?"

"That's gonna be hard, nay, impossible!" Max laughed at the thought of seeing Kai with a pretty girl. "Not me! If that was me, all you'd have to do would be to get Emily to kiss me and-"

"Max… Shush."

Tyson laughed and settled back down, "Don't worry Max. He'll be fine."

It had been quiet for a few minutes when a shadow was seen creeping over to where Mariah lay. Tyson's voice was heard; an audible whisper above the crackling noise of the fire.

"… _Hey, Mariah… If Kai really needs to be kissed by a girl to wake up… Why don't _you_ k… _Owwwww! Okay, okay. I only said it cause Max dared me to."

Max burst out laughing which put a smile to everyone's lips. His smile had always been infectious. "It's worth a try, you know."

"Go to sleep Max. You too Tyson. And I don't want to hear any more on who's gonna kiss the sleeping Prince." Michael laughed silently at what he said and lay down to sleep.

Brian sighed and muttered to himself, "It would be funny if it wasn't true."

No one seemed to hear him, and he was grateful, except for the fact that he had underestimated Neko-jins ears. Lee had heard him and turned to where Brian lay, half coughing to get Rei's attention.

"There's still one thing that I need cleared up, Brian." Brian turned his attention to Lee and nodded for him to continue, "You told us that Kai was adopted by Voltaire, and yet, you three are the best of friends, a big step for him being human and you two Avarians; Kai seems to be just as capable as you to do what an Avarian can handle; He has red eyes; Voltaire and Boris are Avarians, banished from this world, no doubt _and_ were most probably the _same _people who kidnapped the Avarian Prince. My question to you: Is Kai the Avarian Prince, or not?"

Brian almost laughed, which took them all back. Tyson slowly looked to where Kai lay and slowly turned back towards Brian, "Kai really _is_ a Prince?"

Tala stood up and growled, "Yeah! I'm meant to be _watching_ him, or my necks on the line!Meanwhile_ he _goes and gets himself into an_ endless sleep!_"

Rei looked to Tala, still daring to stick up for his Team Captain; "Technically he didn't get _himself_ into this sleep. It was **W**hat who caused it so if anything…"

"Which is why, if we hadn't left when we did, I would have _killed_ him." Tala sighed and put his head down and walked off into the forest, too mad to sleep. He needed to calm himself down and he would do that away from camp.

Coming to an opening, he took out his hidden daggers and began slashing at the trees around him. Taking out all his frustration on his surroundings he stopped to look at what he had done. Shaking his head he walked further into the woods, as far away from the damage he had created and as far away from the camp as he could possibly get.

After several minutes of wandering the forest, he came to an area full of geysers. Boiling water gushed out of one close to where he stood, making him jump back with daggers out in reflex. He let out his breath and shook his head and walked over to where the geyser was situated. He bent over, to look inside, when suddenly a pink light appeared in front of him. Not wanting to be bothered by the annoying little follower he had picked up, he simply hit the Fairy away with his hand.

"Go away before I swat you down." Tala growled at the little Fairy and it got up and disappeared into the geyser. Tala was confused _…Why would it go down to where it could get scalded by the boiling water?…_

But suddenly it rose out of the opening, unharmed and not even wet. It managed to poke out its tongue before Tala acted. His temper had already reached boiling point but that Fairy managed to make it boil over. Reaching over, Tala tried to grab the Fairy when it disappeared back into the hole. He leant over; ready to jump in after it, when he stepped back. Something didn't feel right. Where was the steam? No hot water was gushing out, and the Fairy seemed to hold the reason. Carefully looking over, Tala saw that the hole was big enough for him to fit through, so he carefully made his way in and jumped down.

He was right. No hot water anywhere. He could feel how warm the mud under his boots felt which meant that the boiling water had only vanished a few minutes ago. Walking further down the dripping and steaming tunnel, Tala noticed a glowing light up ahead. The pink hue was unmistakably the Fairy's, but the two read eyes staring at him certainly didn't belong to no Fairy. Suddenly the tunnel began to glow a brighter red and that was when Tala saw the Fairy's companion.

"Dragon!"

The flames exploded down the tunnel coming closer to where Tala stood. He took no time in turning tail and using his Avarian speed to race down the tunnel. He could feel the heat resonating off the flames as they made their way closer, licking at the walls, making their way down the tunnels and out the geysers. Tala came to his exit and stopped. The hole wasn't big enough for him to put his wings up and fly so he jumped as hard and high as he could. Grabbing hold of the edge he pulled himself up and over the side as the flames burst through the hole. He lay there ready to swear when a rumble was heard. The ground began to shake and a huge figure emerged from the ground, sending rocks flying all over the place. The dragon was over double his size, which gave Tala a 'small' feeling that he was no match compared to the huge beast.

Avarians weren't scared of any beasts in the land but against this huge beast, Tala made an exception. Once again he picked up his legs and turned tail. If he ever wanted to live, he needed to get out of there- and fast.

Seeing it's victim running away the great dragon roared and flew into the sky. It watched from above everything that moved, trying to find its prey. Spotting Tala running through the forest it made its way down ready to land and destroy once and for all, what it had been trying to do for the past week.

**(psssst... here's where I added to.)**

Tala felt more than saw a shadow begin to appear around him. It was the middle of the night and the moon was still shining brightly. The shadow slowly began to grow, until it began forming shape. The dragon was right on him, above him to be more precise, and only a few metres at that.

The dragon turned its head to its companion and swooped down. The Fairy flew down right afterwards, passing its friend within seconds. It came to a stop in front of Talas face, which in turn made Tala halt.

"Stop it! I've had about enough of you and your 'Trying to kill Tala' days. I didn't do anything to you. Why are you after me?"

He heard a great big thump behind him, as the dragon landed. The mighty beast stalked over and bent its head towards Tala's, resting only a few centimetres away.

'…_Because, no one who sees a fairy ever lives…'_

Tala jumped at the noise. He turned around, viewing his surroundings, trying to find the culprit of the voice. But no one was there.

"Where are you? Who said that?"

'…_Whom do _you_ think? I protect this fairy from anyone who comes near. Your mistake was coming over as I was resting…' _The voice had a harsh tone to it, spoken in a low growl.

Tala slowly faced the great dragon and tried for a smile. "But that wasn't my fault. Your little fairy friend was the one flying around. I thought you were a rock… Besides- I would have left if she hadn't shown herself."

Tala saw the dragon's eyes crease into slits. Had he said something wrong? He took a fearful step back but the eyes quickly turned to the fairy that flew behind Tala's head to hide.

'…_You never told me that it was _your_ fault he saw you…'_

The fairy peeked around Talas ear and spoke back. Tala couldn't hear what she said, he couldn't even see her little lips move but it seemed that the dragon could.

'… _She says that she thought you never saw her and that when you did she got frightened and awoke me…'_

Tala looked towards the little girl and frowned, "Oh! Really? Did she also tell you that she made fun of me after she noticed me?"

The dragon once again turned its attention to the fairy and growled._'…No. She didn't…'_

'She' came around from Talas ear, head hung low, and sat on his collar. Tala shook his head and looked towards the dragon, eyebrow raised. "So- what now? Are you still gonna kill me? Because, just for your information, I'm not going to let it happen. I have a charge and I am not going to leave him alone. It's already bad enough that those little- freakin'-elves put him into an endless sleep." Tala sighed and leant against a tree, "What's even worse is that his _parents_ are going to kill me if you don't. I mean, the Avarian Prince in an endless sleep? That doesn't sound too good for my health."

The dragon frowned once more but not in anger, '_…The Avarian Prince?…'_

Tala ran a hand through his hair and let it out, "Can you _stop_ that. How are you talking to me anyway, if your lips aren't moving?"

'…_Through the mind…' _came the reply. _'…We dragons use our minds to link with the ones we talk to. Unlike the fairies we watch over - whose voices are too low to be heard. We are able to understand them through linking with their minds. What one usually speaks can be heard in the mind….'_

"So does that mean I can think what I say in my mind, and you could hear it?"

'…_I do that now as you speak. I hear what you say in your mind, sometimes as you say it or even before. That way it puts less strain on us having to hear your voice…'_

"Yeah- Thanks." Tala looked towards the dragon and shook his head but stopped suddenly curiosity written all over his face, "So why are you telling me all this anyway? I thought you were going to kill me."

'… _You said you were watching over the Prince…' _Tala nodded and the dragon continued, _'… Bring me to him…'_

Tala nearly jumped back in surprise, "Are you kidding? Rocking up at camp with you is going to freak them all out. No way."

'…_Then bring Amethyst. She will help him…'_

"Help him as in what? Heal him? Not even the Faerie Prince could do it. What makes you think that a fairy who's thrice his size could."

'…_Do not underestimate my little friend. She may be small but she holds the power of goodness and light. She will be able to help the Prince…'_

"But- My friends - "

'…_Your friends are asleep. Amethyst helped with that…Now go. I want to see the Prince.'_

Tala led the way back and hid behind a bush close to camp. He did a check and found the same shining dust on their faces, which had kept them asleep last time. Slowly, he made his way over to Kai and turned to Amethyst, "Well? What are you waiting for, an invitation? Heal him."

Amethysts hands went to her hips and she poked out her tongue to Tala. "Okay, okay. Please?"

Her frown quickly turned to a smile and she began to throw the shining dust all around Kai. Landing on his chest she made her way up to his face and blew a big chunk onto him.

Kai let out a sneeze before opening his eyes to look at where he was, "How the hell did I get here?"

Tala let out a little laugh, thankful that he wasn't going to be killed by anyone and helped Kai to his feet. "Come on. I need to show you something."

Kai let Tala lead him away from camp until the moon was being blocked by a huge figure.

"What the-"

Tala smirked and pulled out the small fairy, which had crept into his pocket for a ride, "It's a dragon. And look. The fairy I was 'imagining'?"

All Kai could do was stare. Dragons didn't exist, only in fairytales. But then again, so did Fairies.

"So- Dragons are real. And the Fairy- real?"

The dragon bowed its head to the Prince and showed what seemed to be a smile, _'…Welcome back, Prince Kai…'_

"Ah-" Kai looked towards the dragon confused when Tala spoke.

"Don't worry about it Kai. Dragons talk through the mind. He's already explained it to me."

"Right. So- what happened exactly? Last thing I remember is that we were at that Elve village."

Tala shrugged, not wanting to explain it all right now, and looked towards the dragon, "So why did you want me to bring him to you? Your not going to kill him too are you?"

'…_I'm not going to kill anyone. Just let me tell you a story. Long ago, we dragons would roam this world able to go wherever we pleased. Each time a dragon was born a fairy would come forth aswell, both developed a link with eachother; a bond. We dragons would guard our little friends from those who would use their powers for evil. No one thought that the time would come where anyone would be able to do so, but it did. When the alliance was formed, it not only included the Avarians, Faeries and Neko-jins. It also included a fourth kingdom held by the creatures of magic. The Elve's, Fairies and Dragons were seen as a separate nation, but the alliance was held by the four, and maintained. Until the alliance with the Avarians was broken. The kingdom was easily acceptable to the darkness and soon each kingdom separated. We knew we could not be brought into the darkness, which now reigned there, and we gathered our nations together in one last effort against the darkness. With the help of all our fairy companions we were able to use enough magic to wipe our existence from every mind. The magic even went forth into the New World but would only effect those who were born in this world. _

_This done, we knew we had to hide. No one could ever find out about us and so we created a pathway. It was hidden deep within the forest and only a few have ever found it. You, it seems, were lucky enough to find the elves and find us. Very rare, considering how much power went into hiding all three nations._

_But that is not why I wanted to talk to you. Before that day I made a pact with your parents, Kai. If they were ever in need of any help, I would be there to help them. I made this declaration after they saved my life. Even dragons can get into danger and I owe my life to them. But after their death and your disappearance, I vowed that I would honour my promise, somehow. And now it seems that I can. _

_I want you to take this…'_ The dragon looked to Amethyst and in amidst her flying an amulet began to appear. She flew around an around, forming it in mid air until it dropped into Kai's hands.

'…_If you ever need my services, use this to call on me. I will receive the message and will come. But only call on me when you really need my services. Until then, Prince, I will be going…' _The dragon turned to leave but stopped short of lifting off the ground, _'…Take Amethyst with you. She will help you on your journey and I undoubtedly know that she will be of great benefit to you, if you wish to take back the throne. And please, don't be afraid to call for my services. If the job is too big, I shall bring help with me. Until next time we meet, keep safe. All three of you._

_Goodbye Amethyst. I will see you soon. And Kai? Goodluck…'_

With all that said and done, the dragon rose into the air majestically and soared off into the starry skies. They could still see the form of the dragon from the moonlight, and stayed where they were, watching, as it became too small to find.

Kai put an arm around Tala's shoulders and they began their journey back to camp. "You have a _lot_ to explain to me… thief."

At that Kai took off, pushing Tala and making him stumble. Amethyst poked her head out of Tala's shirt pocket in protest as Tala ran after his Prince. Things were back to normal, and with extra help on their side, Boris and Voltaire had better watch out. They were going to get Kai back onto the throne. Back where he belonged and, at the moment, needed most.

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Well? How was it? How cool is that, Tala's got a fairy who lives in his pocket. :P 

Oh yeah. And please review.


	14. Home Sweet Home

Sorry I've taken so long... WOAH! Has it been THAT long? ... Sorry...

Well I've finished this chapter.. its just been that with moving and a WHOLE lot of assessments i havent been able to write let alone update so now its holidays and heres the chapters I've managed to pull together.

Hope you like them... Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblades.

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**Chapter Fourteen: Home Sweet Home**

As the sun rose high, so did the group and surprisingly enough they had slept in late. The sun was already shining and most of the group were just getting up. Rubbing his eyes Tyson stood up and walked over to where Tala sat at the fire. He was stirring a pot of food, which smelt really good; the reason Tyson had come over in the first place.

"Mm, that smells good. What is it?"

Tala took a small glance at him before returning his attention to the food. He leant over, eyes never leaving the food, as he whispered in Tyson's ear, "Rat."

"Euck. That's disgusting. I'm not eating that."

He heard a small snicker come from where Michael kneeled, folding his bedroll, "Tyson won't eat something? Oh no! Is it the end of the world?" He laughed before heading over to where Tyson sat, nose screwed up, "So what exactly won't you eat? I mean, you not eating? That's as funny as- as Kai waking up."

"I don't see what's so funny about it. He's the Prince remember? It'll be a _good_ thing if he woke up."

Michael backed down at what Brian said and grabbed the spoon off Tala, "So what exactly is this?" He poked it and watched as bubbles began to burst, "This ain't even fit for _me_ let alone a Prince."

"So you told them I was the Prince. For someone who has to look out for me and inform me of things, you're doing a lousy job of it, thief." Kai walked in from the forestry carrying an armful of sticks. He held a sly smile on his mouth and as he placed the sticks next to the fire he sat down next to Tala and whacked him over the head lightly. "You're getting worse at your job each day, Tala. I bet you didn't even tell them that I woke up."

Tala just shrugged and grabbed the spoon back off Michael to stir the food. "Eh. Well it would explain their surprised faces."

Tyson looked over to where Kai had been asleep and then over to where Kai stood, "How did you do it?"

Eddy frowned, "What happened to it being an 'eternal' sleep? Doesn't that mean a 'never wake up' sleep? How come you woke up?"

Kai shrugged it off and handed his plate to Tala. As Tala began to serve the food, Mariah handed the plates out to everyone else.

"Dude, this doesn't look so appetising anymore, smells good though. But what exactly is it?"

Tyson lent over to Michael and spoke low into his ear, "Rat."

"Ewww! I'm not eating rat!" Michael pushed his plate away, as did most others.

Kai frowned and turned to Tala, "You told them it was rat? Nice, thief, nice."

Tala chuckled and ate a spoonful of the food, "Okay, so I made a mistake for what it was. Don't worry, it's edible."

Tyson downed a spoonful and watched Tala's reaction carefully; "I hope so."

Tala just shook his head and laughed as he ate his fill.

Camp was packed and the group headed North to where Elerrian lay. No matter what they talked about the conversation seemed to always lead back to the 'Sleeping Kai' matter, but Tala and Kai refused to talk of the matter. Instead, they glanced at eachother with sly grins and kept their lips sealed. It annoyed the rest of the group but had kept Tala and Kai amused. At lunchtime they had stopped for a short break before walking for another few hours.

"Are we there yet?"

Sigh. "Tyson, if you say that _one_ more time, _even as a joke_, I swear I'll snap."

Tyson laughed from atop his horse and smiled, "Brian, you'd snap even if I _didn't_ do it. You'd probably think that I was planning something evil to do to you, like you do every night before you go to bed. I bet you plan all the evil stuff you're going to do the next day just to be prepared. You… party-pooper!"

Enrique let out a small chuckle, before galloping off on his horse. Robert let out a small-annoyed grunt before galloping off after his Prince, "_Enrique, slow down._"

Enrique stopped at the end of the path and turned around, "Look." He motioned for past the path to where the forest stopped and green meadow formed. From there the meadow dropped into a valley where, on the other side, held the edge of another forest. "We're home."

All the teenagers gathered at the end of the path and looked at the sight in front of them.

"Wow. It's beautiful." Mariah leant on Rei's shoulder to see the view better which, in turn, earnt her a blush from Rei.

"But it doesn't explain where Elerrian is. Is it invisible?"

Oliver laughed, "Well, sort of, but not exactly. It's invisible to the eye of outsiders. Really, only Faeries can see it."

"I don't get it. Invisible?" Oliver turned to Emily and nodded.

"Well it's more of a force field. The Faeries of long ago generated enough magic to create a barrier." Oliver sighed and pointed to where a huge metallic object stood. It looked like a more sophisticated version of Earth's generators. "But that time is lost. I mean, after the war- Well, this barrier is now created by those huge generators."

Tyson frowned and looked towards Enrique, "You mean you lost magic? Like how, back on Earth, we've lost those ancient languages my dad keeps bugging me about."

"I guess. I mean, with the war that followed after the Avarian royal family was lost the Faeries were the first to part from the Alliance. We wanted nothing to do with the war, and so our seven guardians, the wisest and most experienced of the group, formed together. Usually, they look after different sectors of Elerrian but with this, they formed together with their magic to create this barrier. It took all they had and- "

"Basically it took all _their_ life force to save others from losing theirs." Robert stood forward, taking over from what Enrique couldn't say. "And so, with our seven elders lost, so was the magic to keep this barrier sustained. We have to use these generators in order that we can let people in and out. And that's how it has always been since we were young."

Tyson nodded understandingly and looked off towards the forestry, "Right. So- I don't mean to be rude or anything, but, I _really_ want to see Elerrian and- Pleeeease, can we go?"

Enrique nodded and they made their way towards the generator. Before they could reach it a sentry flew down from within the trees and bowed.

"My Prince. Welcome home. I'll inform your mother of your arrival immediately."

He flew off and entered into the surrounding forest only to suddenly disappear. Suddenly a blue haze began to appear in front of them, disappearing right afterwards, until it formed a small hole. The barrier had been opened. And there, right in front of them, stood Elerrian.

The kingdom was just what one would imagine Faeries to live in. The Centre Square was bustling with smiling, happy Faeries, all trading in the market square. Small houses were lining the streets but were covered in bright colours as flowers sprouted everywhere. It made the streets alive, filling them all with excitement as to what the rest of the kingdom could bring forth.

From there, a wide cobble stone path led to a huge set of what looked like golden gates, to which the Castle stood. The whole Palace was surrounded by gardens, which held as many colours as you could imagine. It looked as beautiful as the streets but held a peaceful and serine feel towards it that the streets couldn't give. Tiny birds flew from where they perched in the trees as the group made their way up the path.

Michael looked up and only saw blue sky, "So this barrier is invisible. Is it just that though? I mean, does it keep people out like a force field does?"

Robert nodded and looked around, taking in the familiar sight of home. "The barrier stops all living matter coming in. Living matter of our size, though. The animals that dwell here can sense this barrier and know to stay away from it even if they are unaffected by it."

"Does it hurt Humans? Or- well, people." Emily creased her eyebrows a little and watched as a small bird flew from the branch it had been sitting on and into the sky, "Isn't that cruel? Keeping people caged in here, when there's nothing to be afraid of."

"But there is. Attacking kingdoms, like the Shadow Crawlers; those who would want to harm us. There's always danger. That's why we need the barrier up."

"Yeah, well that's useful and all, but don't you think it would be more useful if it could do little things like keep out the rain?" Michael chuckled at what Max had said and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Of course, Maxie. But they weren't smart enough to think about that back then." Both teens laughed and headed into the Palace.

Inside was even more amazing then the outside. What one could imagine as a magical kingdom; glamorous architecture, tall towers on every corner of every castle, everything as bright as the sun, and all living creatures as bright as everything around them, that was exactly what lay before them.

As they drew closer to the gates, leading towards the royal castle, they found guards positioned on either side, standing up straight and tall as their Prince came closer. None averted their gaze, even as they all walked through, which made everyone feel… almost important.

Tyson, on the other hand, couldn't ignore the temptation of trying to make one of the guards gaze waver and stood right in front of one, staring intently, right into his eyes. The guard didn't react straight away, but after Tyson had stood there for over a minute, the guard began to get uncomfortable. Tyson could see him trying to hold his gaze intently, with little help from Max standing at the entrance giggling.

"Tyson, leave him alone. Come on, we have to catch up with the rest of them, before we lose sight of them and get lost."

Tyson laughed and gave the guard a pat on the back, "You're doing a fine job, my man. Keep up the good work." And with that he ran to catch up with the others who had already made it inside, leaving the guard to give a big sigh of relief as the rest of the guards fell out of line towards their duties.

As they all made their way inside the two huge doors, their breath was taken away once more. The thought that the town outside the palace walls was magical made them all bewildered by what was inside. The roof seemed to never end, standing way above their heads with the walls decorated with tapestries that gave their surroundings a fairy-tale feel. They almost had to pinch themselves to see if they weren't dreaming. It was an amazing experience, and a glorious sight that they would never forget.

And then _she_ came. Slowly. One step at a time, down the staircase. Her straight silver hair came down to her hips and seemed to glisten in the light. She wore a cream coloured dress which, although seemed plain, held many intricate designs woven in. She looked stunning. So elegant with how she walked, and yet she seemed full of life, as she turned her last few steps into a run, jumping into Enriques arms. Her laughter filled the hall, as Enrique returned the gesture.

"I am so glad to see you again. You took your time returning, though." She gave a little pout and put her hands on her hips, "You didn't forget about me, did you?"

Enrique laughed, "How could I forget about _you_. How could _anyone_, for that fact."

She just laughed and faced the group smiling, her lilac eyes shining brightly, "Oh. Hello. I am so sorry that Enrique has not yet introduced me." She gave Enrique a cheeky little smile before she continued, "I am Serenity. _Princess_ Serenity."

Tyson's mouth stood agape, "Your Enriques _sister_?"

Serenity laughed, "Of course. Come. The Enchantress is waiting."

Enrique looked towards Serenity awkwardly, "Why do you call her that? Can't you just call her 'mum' or 'mother'? I mean, it wouldn't hurt, ya know."

Serenity raised an eyebrow, " 'Ya know' it would not hurt for you to use proper diction and proper language. Has that time in the Other world corrupted your speech this much?"

She walked through some open doors leaving Enrique standing in the hall dumbfounded. After a moment he pulled back his shoulders and walked through the doors, chin held high, "I do so have proper diction, and for your information, the Other World just gave me new insights towards other peoples speech. You know, they have over - "

"I am glad that you have returned, my son."

Enrique cringed and turned around, and smiled towards the lady behind him. There standing in the doors was a woman in her thirties, whom didn't look an age of it. Her white gown shone with an air of authority and her smile held a motherly quality from years of watching over her children; her two children standing before her, but also all her other children standing in the halls, playing in the courts, and moving throughout Elerrian. She was Elerrians Queen, and all her subjects were her children.

The Enchantress slowly and gracefully made her way over to the head of the huge table in the middle of the room, and sat down in the throne-like chair.

"Come. Sit. Welcome to Elerrian."

All of them began to find their seats, Enrique and Serenity on either side of their mother. Kai had somehow managed to sit right next to Serenity and gave her a quick smile before looking towards Tala, trying to find an excuse not to talk to her. It wasn't that he _didn't_ want to talk to her, by all means, he wanted to _kiss_ her, but held himself back. She was beautiful, but she was Enriques sister, and a Faerie. Besides. He was only fourteen and she didn't even look thirteen. How old was she then?

"I did not expect to find royalty, especially Avarian royalty, travelling with the group." Kai was pulled out of his thoughts and looked towards the Enchantress. Was she talking to him?

"You are the Prince, are you not?"

Kai looked wearily at her and hesitated before speaking, "Yes. But how did you know?"

The Enchantress gave a graceful smile and spoke, "My powers. It is difficult to explain but putting it simply, I can see status. Well, atleast royalty. I can see the power and authority which only royalty hold. I am also able to see the power which each Faerie holds. That is why I am able to see who is royalty, and also see who is a Faerie. It is quite helpful."

Serenity turned towards Kai her eyes glowed with hope, "You are the missing Avarian Prince? Have you been to Adyndryl? Do they know that you are alive? Are the- "

"Please! Just... calm down. No I haven't yet been to Adyndryl? So no they don't know and- "

"Where have your red eyes gone. You can't be the Prince, you don't have red eyes."

Enrique smirked and mumbled something under his breath. Kai's eyes suddenly turned their crimson red colour as Serenity scowled towards Enrique, "Oh, come on Sery. You of all people should have felt my magic. You're the next in line to be Enchantress. You're supposed to be 'more powerful than me', remember?"

"Where's Adyndryl? Is that the Avarian Kingdom?"

Enrique and Serenity both turned and looked towards Tyson. They both answered the question for him, "Yes, it is." Turning back to eachother they glared at having said it together.

The Enchantress looked towards both her children and sighed, they were just at that age. She had gone through the same thing with her older brother, having taken over being the only daughter, even though she was younger. He had eventually gotten over it. But it had taken a long time. She just hoped Enrique was better than that.

"Children, please. Enrique, you know that that is not true. You are both powerful, and that does not mean that you are any less under her. Now, please, both of you behave. We have guests with us. _Your_ guests, Enrique." Both acknowledged what she had told them, said their apologies and smiled towards eachother saying 'sorry'. "You must be hungry. So I have organised for food to be prepared. Please, eat your fill. Any friend of my son is a friend to the kingdom." She smiled that graceful motherly smile once more and began idle talk, listening to her sons exciting adventures in the Other World.

As the food was brought in they could smell exotic foreign smells which made their stomachs rumble. They _were_ hungry and all began to talk together as they enjoyed the feast of food set before them. Looking back to the first day of their adventure, they had all grown. They had grown more responsible, having to take care of themselves, but had also grown in friendship. They weren't 'The Teams' anymore, they had become, a team. A group of friends, together having an adventure. One which was far from being over.

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So yeah... please review, hope you like it so far. 


	15. Eyes Wide Open

Hows that? Two chapters because I've taken so long... Hope you forgive me... puppy dog eyes

Disclaimer: Dont own beyblades

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Chapter Fifteen : Eyes Opened Wide**

It was dark outside but he couldn't sleep. Everything that had been said to him over the last couple of weeks was finally dawning on him. How bad had Adyndryl become since Boris and Voltaire had taken over. Taxes rising, no trade, it didn't sound promising. Which was why he had to leave. He couldn't stay here, in a huge palace, while his kingdom needed him. He had to leave, without Tala and Brian. Without the group. He had to do this himself.

As he put up his wings, he climbed onto the top of the banister, ready to fly down to the gates. As he readied himself to jump he heard a soft voice behind him.

"You aren't leaving are you?" He turned around and faced lilac eyes. Serenity looked heartbroken, eyes almost gleaming with tears. "You can't. Atleast not by yourself. If you have not been there yet, then you have a big job ahead of you. You could get hurt, you could get- "

Kai put his wings away quickly and rushed over to cover her mouth, "Look. I can't just leave Adyndryl in Boris and Voltaires hands. They will destroy it... Whats left of it." Kai sighed, "I'm their Prince, the next in line to the throne. I am the rightful heir to the kingdom. So it's my duty to look after the kingdom. And that's what I'm going to do."

Serenity shook her head, grabbed his hand off her mouth, and spoke softly. "Please, don't. I don't want you to get yourself hurt. You don't really know how bad it is, or how impossible it will be to do it alone. Boris and Voltaire have the loyalty of the Shadow Crawlers on their side. Adyndryl has changed. More than you realise. No light shines; there is no happiness, but their hope for you is still there. Because, deep down, they all know that you are alive, and are waiting for you to come back."

"Which is why I have to leave. Why I have to help them."

"No. No you don't. That is why you must stay here and work out a plan. If they lose you, all hope for them is gone. And hope is something they can't lose, otherwise, what else is there to live for?" She looked up to him, pleading for his people, "Please. Please, Kai. Stay, even for one more night, just to work out a plan. You can't do it by yourself. Please, stay."

Kai didn't know what to do. He wanted to go and help his people, but he knew that she was right. He couldn't do it on his own, but he wanted to. Looking ino Serenity's eyes he saw tears beginning to surface. He sighed and put his arms around her in comfort, Serenity burying her face into Kai. He felt awkward, having not comforted someone like this since, well, ever. The abbey hadn't been a place of comfort, and guys hugging guys? Encouragement was what they used instead.

He lifted her face to face his and wiped away her tears. "Why are you crying? I only met you today. And you don't want me to leave?"

"It's just that, I've seen Adyndryl. I've seen the chaos and destruction. I don't want them to lose hope. Besides, " She wiped away new tears which had fallen and smiled, "Can't I help out one of my brothers friends? Especially considering he is the Prince."

"I guess… But how are you helping me by keeping me away from my kingdom?"

"Look. Kai, it is your choice wether you go there unprepared and outnumbered, but by giving you the circumstances and choices…" She looked away and sighed, "I know how I would feel if it was _my_ kingdom. And I know, although I wouldn't want anything to happen to them, I would wait for my chance. I would wait for the perfect oppurtunity for the circumstance I would be in."

"Circumstance?"

"You. All you have is yourself and your friends. You have no army, no guards and not merely enough weaponry for what you need to do. Kai, you need to wait for _your_ circumstances to get better, to be able to help out _their_ circumstance."

Kai growled and looked away, "How would you know. You're just a kid."

She pulled from his arms, eyebrows creasing into a frown. As she spoke her voice was low but strong in determination, "I am no child. I am fourteen years of age, and with the way you have been acting I would reconsider who you think is actually the child here.

"_You_ are fourteen? You can't be, you're so… young. You just... How?"

"Well, we _were_ born in the same year."

"You know what I mean. How could you look so young?" Kai looked her up and down and gave a short, unsure, laugh, "You can't be. What is it. Are you making an illusion over yourself, so that people see what you want them to see when you're really- "

"The fact that you would even suggest this offends me. How dare you-"

Kai quickly placed a firm hand back over her mouth looking around to see if anyone had heard them, "I was joking. Just- Be quiet, okay?"

Serenity had her eyes narrowed at him, glaring in more frustration than anger, "I would just like to know how you will supposedly destroy both Boris and Voltaire _and_ get past all the Shadow Crawlers at the same time. They may be stupid, but they do know how to fight."

"One person can easily slip in, but a whole army? I don't want to start a war. If Boris and Voltaire _do_ have the Shadow Crawlers under his control, then destroying their leadership, would create confusion. They wouldn't know what to do and would retreat. Thus order will be returned."

She looked sceptically at him, "Oh really.

Kai growled at her and walked towards the window, "I didn't say I would do it all in one night. I want to go to Adyndryl to see the ruins for myself. Okay? It will take me less than a week. Just... keep your mouth shut, and I'll be back before you know it."

"You want me to _lie_ to everyone?"

Kai turned around and raised an eyebrow, "I didn't tell you to _say_ anything, just keep your mouth shut... If you can."

She went to retort but Kai had already spread his wings, a glorious crimson flooding into the room, and swooped out of the window, out of the palace, and out of sight.

Tala stormed into the dining room, face crossed with a mixture of worry and frustration, "So you haven't seen Kai at all? No one has?"

"I didn't say that. I said maybe. Well, yes, but-"

Enrique looked frustrated at her and sighed, "Look, just tell us, Serenity."

"It is difficult to say."

"How! Serenity, say it. Where is he?"

Serenity knew how bad Kai had treated her last night, but something in her mind told her to look at it from his point of view. His kingdom was quickly falling into ruins and she knew she wouldn't have just sat back to watch. He had his mind set, so the least she could do was by him time. Even if it meant that in that time he could get himself into danger. Serenity sighed and looked down. "I told him not to. But he wouldn't listen to me."

Tala stepped forward, the worry increasing, "Where has he gone?"

"To the Neko-jin Village. He said he was going to see if he could get any help, a re-evaluation of the Alliance. Then he said he would return to discuss it with mother."

Tala jumped at her answer looking towards Brian, "We have to go after him. You get supplies; I'll pack our things." He started stalking out of the room muttering to himself, "I can't believe he would _do_ this to us."

"No!" Both stopped abruptly and looked to Serenity and frowned, "I mean, you don't know how far away he is, or you might miss him. You could go right pass him, or even worse, get lost. He knows his way. He has supplies and everything he needs. He should be fine, hopefully."

"Hopefully isn't good enough for me, Princess. And what did you do. See him leave, or wave him off as you handed him all the supplies he needed?"

"I didn't, I told you, I didn't want him to leave any more than you did, but he went anyway. He said he had to do it alone though. He couldn't with you two."

"Why couldn't he?" Tala ran a hand through his hair as he paced in annoyance and horror. He couldn't lose his Prince, "Pah! Forget it. Brian we're going. We're finding our Prince."

"Please, just have breakfast first. Then go. You can not leave on an empty stomach."

Brian gave Serenity a glare and simply walked out of the room for his answer. Tala shook his head and followed, looking behind him at the group, "We can't Princess. It's just like that. We're going after him."

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Dun Dun Daaaah... Ooo... I wonder whats going to happen... Review please! 


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